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GIFT  OF 
Lewis        Bealer 


THE  STAMPS 

OF    THE 

GERMAN  STATES 

By  Bertram  W.  H.  Poole 
PART    I 

"Stamps   of    the   German   Empire" 

BADEN  MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN 

BAVARIA  MECKLENBURG-STREUTZ 

BERGEDORF  OLDENBURG 

BREMEN  PRUSSIA 

BRUNSWICK  SAXONY 

HAMBURG  SCHLESWIG-HOISTEIN 

HANOVER  LUBECK 
WURTEMBERG 


HANDBOOK  NUMBER  6 

Price   35c 

PUBLISHED    BY 

MEKEEL-SEVERN-WYLIE    CO. 
BOSTON,  MASS. 


i" 


THE    STAMPS 


OF    THE 


GERMAN    EMPIRE 


BY 
BERTRAM    W.    H.    POOLE 

AUTHOR     OF 


The    Stamps    of    the    Cook    Islands,    Stamp    Collector's 

Guide,   Bermuda,   Bulgaria,  Hong  Kong, 

Sierra    Leone,    Etc. 


MEKEEL-SEVERN-WYLIE    CO. 
HANDBOOK    No.    6 


PUBLISHED    BY 

MEKEEL-SEVERN-WYLIE    CO. 
BOSTON,    MASS. 


GIFT  OF 


FOREWORD. 

In  beginning  this  series  of  articles 
little  is  required  in  the  way  of  an  intro- 
ductory note  for  the  title  is  lucid 
enough.  I  may,  however,  point  out  that 
these  articles  are  written  solely  for  the 
guidance  of  the  general  collector,  in 
which  category,  of  course,  all  our  boy 
readers  are  included.  While  all  im- 
portant philatelic  facts  will  be  recorded 
but  little  attention  will  be  paid  to  minor 
varieties.  Special  stress  will  be  laid  on 
a  study  of  the  various  designs  and  all 
necessary  explanations  will  be  given  so 
that  the  lists  of  varieties  appearing  in 
the  catalogues  will  be  plain  to  the  most 
inexperienced  collector.  In  the  "refer- 
ence list,"  which  will  conclude  each 
chapter,  only  >  s.ucji  s.farfif>s;  Hifl  £>e  in- 
cluded as  may;  i»e,'con&tfJdrekt  ;"e,ss£ntial" 
and,  as  such,' coming 'within 'the  scope 
of  the.'phJlaJtetist'lcoUeetijig  on  ^ene^l 
lines.  .V.  .'  I.*  I  V:  •  '  *:  ;  !  ;  "•  : 

The'  subject 'will  be  divided  into  "the 
four  main  sections  under  which  the 
stamps  are  usually  classified,  viz  : — (a) 
the  separate  issues  for  the  German 
States;  (b)  the  issues  for  Germany 
proper;  (c)  German  stamps  overprinted 
for  use  in  the  foreign  post-offices;  and 
(d)  the  stamps  for  the  German 
Colonies. 


THE 


STAMPS  OF  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE. 


By  BERTRAM  W.  H.  POOL?. 


BADEN. 


The  grand-duchy  of  Baden  is  a  com- 
paratively small  territory,  having  an 
area  of  5,821  square  miles  and  a  popu- 
lation of  about  two  millions.  It  is 
bordered  by  the  Rhine  on  the  south  and 
west,  Wurtemberg  on  the  east,  and 
Bavaria  on  the  north.  Until  the  early 
part  of  the  19th  century  it  played  an  in- 
significant part  in  European  politics,  but 
when  Austria  and  Prussia  were  at  war 
it  sided  with  Austria.  The  results  were 
disastrous,  for  when  the  tide  of  battle 
turned  in  favor  of  Prussia  it  found  it- 
self burdened  with  a  huge  war  indem- 
nity. It  was  forced  to  remodel  its  army 
on  Prussian  lines  and  join  the  North 
German  Confederation.  In  the  Franco- 
German  war  its  troops  fought  on  the 
German  side,  and  in  due  time  it  be- 
came a  part  of  the  new  German  Em- 
pire. The  grand-duchy  has  three  votes 
in  the  Federal  Council,  and  elects  four- 
teen deputies  to  the  Imperial  Diet.  The 
existing  grand-duchy  of  Baden  is  a 
continuation  and  development  of  the 
ancient  duchy  of  Swabia  or  Alemannia, 
principally  through  the  two  dynasties  of 
the  margreaves  of  Baden-Baden  and 
Baden-Durlach.  In  1803  the  ruling  mar- 
greave  of  the  united  (1772)  dynasties 
was  made  an  elector  of  the  empire,  and 
in  1806  he  proclaimed  himself  a  sov- 
ereign grand-duke.  The  town  of  Baden 
is  world  famous  for  its  mineral  waters 
and  baths.  Though  the  healing  virtues 
of  the  waters  were  known  to  the  Romans 
(Aquae  Aureliae)  it  only  came  into  re- 
pute as  a  health  resort  about  a  century 
ago.  It  has  a  population  of  less  than 
20,000,  but  it  is  estimated  that  its  an- 
nual visitors  amount  to  at  least  four 
times  that  number. 

In  tracing  the  philatelic  history  of 
Baden  in  the  "Adhesive  Postage  Stamps 
of  Europe"  the  late  Mr.  W.  A.  S. 
Westoby  wrote : 

The    postal    administration    of    the 
Grand  Duchy  of  Baden  was  formerly 


in  the  hands  of  the  house  of  Thurn 
and  Taxis ;  but  the  wars  of  the  French 
Revolution,  followed  by  those  of  the 
First  Empire,  so  dislocated  the  service 
that  Baden,  in  common  with  some  of 
the  other  German  States,  withdrew 
from  the  Thurn  and  Taxis  monopoly, 
and  established  an  independent  postal 
administration.  Since  December  31st, 
1871,  the  separate  administration  of 
Baden  has  ceased  to  exist,  and  the 
Post  Office  is  now  under  the  control 
of  the  general  postal  administration 
of  the  German  Empire. 
So  long  as  it  continued  to  issue  post- 
age stamps  of  its  own  the  currency  of 
Baden  was  the  florin,  equal  to  about  40c, 
divided  into  60  kreuzer. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

On  April  6th,  1850,  the  governments 
of  Austria  and  Prussia  established  a 
Postal  Convention  for  the  interchange 
of  correspondence  at  fixed  rates  and 
other  German  States  were  invited  to 
join  the  Union.  Among  other  things 
the  Articles  of  this  Convention  stipu- 
lated that,  as  a  rule,  correspondence 
should  be  prepaid  and  that  such  pre- 
payment should  be  effected  by  means  of 
postage  stamps  as  soon  as  practicable. 
Baden  at  once  agreed  to  join  the  Union 
but  as  the  sanction  of  the  Legislative 
Assembly  was  necessary  before  the 
grand-duchy  could  officially  become  a 
member  matters  were  delayed  until  the 
meeting  of  that  body  in  the  autumn  of 
1850.  The  Legislative  Assembly  gave 
its  consent  and  also  sanctioned  the  issue 
of  postage  stamps.  In  the  meantime 
enquiries  had  been  made  regarding  the 
safest  and  most  economical  method  of 
manufacturing  stamps  so  that  directly 
legal  enactment  was  given  to  the  recom- 
mendation to  join  the  Union,  the 


M80838 


authorities  were  in  a  position  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  manufacture  of  suitable 
labels.  It  was  decided  to  issue  four 
values — Ikr,  3kr,  6kr,  and  9kr — and  Mr. 
C.  Naumann,  of  Frankfort,  was  com- 
missioned to  engrave  the  dies  while  the 
paper  was  obtained  from  a  local  paper- 
maker.  It  was  decided  that  the  most 
economical  method  would  be  to  print 
all  values  in  black  but  use  paper  of  a 
different  color  for  each.  Mr.  Westoby 
states  that  "the  ,die&s  were  engraved  on 
copper  ui  ^relief,-  antt  ^oheisied  of  two 
parts:  thk  numeral  of J value; was  in  the 
centr^  on,a  circular  ground,  the  pattern 
of  \wjiifrirJ  varfcit  1h;  each  value;  while 
the  rectangular,  frame:  was  tfyi  same  for 
all  the  values." 

At  the  top  we  find  "Baden"  in  German 
capitals;  at  the  bottom  is  "Freimarke", 
meaning  "Free  stamp";  at  the  left  is 
"Deutsch:  Oestr :  Postverein",  signify- 
ing "German  Austrian  Postal  Union"; 
and  at  the  right  is  "Vertrag  v.  6  April, 
1850",  meaning  "Convention  of  April 
6th,  1850".  The  latter  date,  as  already 
explained,  refers  to  that  on  which  the 
Postal  Union  was  established. 

The  dies  for  the  four  values  were 
completed  by  Naumann  on  Dec.  20th, 
1850,  and  100  electrotypes  were  taken 
from  each  of  them,  except  of  the  Ikr 
of  which  only  fifty  electros  were  cast. 
It  was  decided  to  print  the  Ikr  in 
sheets  of  45,  in  five  rows  of  nine,  and 
the  other  values  in  sheets  of  90,  in  ten 
rows  of  nine.  The  extra  cliches  were 
kept  in  reserve  in  case  any  of  the  others 
should  become  damaged  or  worn  and 
have  to  be  replaced.  The  paper  was 
machine-made,  wove,  and  differed  in 
color  for  each  value.  The  paper  for 
the  Ikr  was  buff;  that  for  the  3kr  was 
orange;  that  for  the  6kr  bluish  green; 
and  that  for  the  9kr  was  rose-red 
showing  a  faint  tinge  of  violet.  The 
stamps  were  imperforate. 

The  stamps  were  printed  by  the 
University  printer,  Mr.  Hasper,  of 
Carlsruhe,  ordinary  black  printers'  ink 
being  employed.  By  the  end  of  Febru- 
ary, 1851,  a  supply  considered  sufficient 
to  last  a  year  was  ready  but  for  some 
reason  or  other  the  stamps  were  not 
placed  in  issue  until  May  1st.  The  de- 
mand for  stamps  being  much  greater 
than  had  been  anticipated  the  first  sup- 
ply was  exhausted  in  less  than  three 
months  and  a  further  supply  had  to  be 
printed.  This  second  impression  was 
ready  in  August  and  the  paper  used 
for  the  3kr  and  6kr  differed  in  tint 
from  that  originally  used.  The  color 
of  that  for  the  3kr  was  yellow  and  that 
for  the  6kr  yellow-green.  The  plates 
differed  also,  the  reserve  cliches  being 
added,  so  that  the  Ikr  was  printed  in 


sheets  of  fifty  and  the  other  values  in 
sheets  of  one  hundred.  The  additional 
electrotypes  were  so  added  that  the 
horizontal  rows  contained  ten  instead 
of  nine  specimens. 

A  well  authenticated  error  of  the  9kr 
is  known  this  being  printed  on  the 
bluish  green  paper  of  the  6kr.  It  is 
an  exceedingly  rare  stamp  and  it  is  pre- 
sumed that  only  one  sheet  was  printed. 

Reprints  of  the  Ikr,  3kr,  and  6kr 
were  made  in  1867  and,  except  to  an 
expert,  these  are  very  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish from  originals.  The  shades 
differ  slightly,  the  paper  for  the  Ikr 
and  3kr  is  thicker  and  the  gum  is  white 
and  smooth  instead  of  being  brown  and 
crackly  like  the  gum  on  the  originals. 
Care  should,  therefore,  be  exercised  in 
the  purchase  of  unused  specimens. 


ccrence   List. 
May     1st,     1851.     Black     on     colored     paper. 
Imperf. 

1.  Ikr  on  buff,  Scott's  No.  1. 

2.  3kr  on  orange-yellow,  Scott's  Nos.  2  &  2a. 

3.  6kr  on  green,  Scott's  Nos.  3  &  3a. 

4.  9kr  on  lilac-rose,  Scott's  No.  4. 


THE   SECOND   ISSUE. 

Another  printing  of  the  stamps  of  the 
numeral  type  took  place  in  1853.  The 
color  of  the  Ikr  not  being  considered 
satisfactory  it  was  decided  to  print  this 
value  on  plain  white  paper.  At  the 
same  time,  to  reduce  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction, fifty  additional  cliches  were 
made  so  that  this  value  could  be  printed 
in  sheets  of  100  like  the  others  of  the 
series.  In  this  printing,  also,  the  3kr 
and  6kr  exchanged  colors  though  for 
what  reason  is  not  clear  unless  there 
was  some  idea  that  these  values  might 
be  confused  with  the  similar  denomi- 
nations for  the  kingdom  of  Wurtem- 
berg.  No  public  notice  of  the  change 
of  colors  was  given  but  the  information 
was  conveyed  to  the  post-offices  in  a 
general  order  dated  June  3rd,  1853,  as 
follows : — 

You  are  hereby  informed  of  a  new 
impression  of  the  postage  stamps 
which  will  be  sent  you  in  a  few  days 
from  the  Grand  Ducal  General  Post- 
office,  in  which  the  colours  are 
changed,  for  the  6kr  yellow,  for  the 
3kr  green,  and  white  for  the  Ikr.  All 


the  Postoffices  are  informed  of  these 
changes,  in  order  to  render  mistakes 
impossible.  The  new  stamps  are 
not  to  be  sold  to  the  public  till  the 
stock  of  the  old  ones  is  entirely 
exhausted. 

From  this  notice  it  is  plain  that  the 
new  stamps  could  not  have  been  issued 
prior  to  June  3rd,  1853  and  as  a  matter 
of  fact  none  of  the  values  were  used 
until  1854.  The  Ikr  was  issued  in  Jan- 
uary of  that  year  while  the  other 
values  were  placed  on  sale  in  the  fol- 
lowing month. 

Later  printings  were  made  in  1854, 
1855,  and  1857  the  colors  remaining  the 
same.  Before  the  printing  of  1857 
took  place  complaint  was  made  of  the 
difficulty  experienced  in  gumming  the 
3kr  value.  The  manufacturers  attrib- 
uted this  difficulty  to  the  color  of  the 
paper  and  recommended  paper  of  a  new 
tint  be  used,  blue  being  the  color  sug- 
gested. As,  however,  a  large  quantity 
of  the  green  paper  remained  in  stock 
and  the  paper  maker  would  only  take 
this  back  as  "waste"  it  was  decided  to 
use  this  up  before  making  any  change. 
In  1858  another  printing  was  made 
and  the  suggested  change  of  color  then 
took  place.  No  notice  of  this  change 
of  paper  to  either  public  or  officials  has 
been  found  but  from  a  study  of  dated 
specimens  it  seems  proved  that  the  blue 
3kr  was  issued  in  December,  1858. 

All  four  varieties  were  reprinted  in 
1867  and,  like  the  reprints  of  the  1851 
issue  made  at  the  same  time,  their  de- 
tection is  a  difficult  matter  only  possible 
to  one  who  has  made  a  special  study 
of  the  stamps.  The  paper  of  the  Ikr 
and  3kr  is  thicker  than  that  used  for 
the  originals,  the  shades  of  all  four 
are  slightly  different,  and  the  gum  is 
white  and  smooth. 

Reference  List. 

1854-58.  Imperforate. 

5.  Ikr  black,  Scott's  No.  6. 

6.  3kr  black  on  green,  Scott's  No.  7. 

7.  3kr  black  on  blue,  Scott's  No.  9. 

8.  6kr  black  on  yellow,  Scott's  No.  8. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

After  the  last  printing  of  the  numeral 
stamps,  which  took  place  in  1859,  the 
electrotypes  had  become  so  worn  that 
it  was  evident  new  sets  would  have  to 
be  made  for  all  values  before  further 
printing  could  take  place.  The  neigh- 
bouring kingdom  of  Wurtemberg  had 
adopted  a  new  design  showing  the 
Arms  of  the  State  and  as  other 
countries  were  contemplating  the 
adoption  of  more  elaborate  designs  it 
is  hardly  surprising  that  the  Baden 


Government  was  also  considering  the 
advisability  of  replacing  its  plain  nu- 
meral stamps  with  something  more 
striking.  As  new  plates  were  required 
anyway  the  time  was  opportune  for  a 
change.  In  an  excellent  article  appear- 
ing in  the  Philatelic  Record  for  1894 
we  read 

The  Postal  Administration  sent  in 
its  report  to  the  Government  of  the 
Grand  Duchy  on  21st  June,  1859,  set- 
ting forth  the  necessity  of  having 
fresh  plates  provided  for  printing 
the  stamps,  as  those  in  use  were  worn 
out,  and  that  the  question  had  arisen 
whether  the  design  should  not  be 
changed;  that  the  present  design  was 
antiquated;  that  the  printing  on  col- 
ored paper  was  not  clear,  nor  were 
the  stamps  safe  from  imitation;  that 
it  would  be  better  that  the  stamps 
should  be  printed  on  white  paper  in 
colors  according  to  their  values,  and, 
as  was  then  done  elsewhere,  the 
country  should  be  denoted  by  the 
head  of  its  Sovereign  or  its  Arms ; 
and  that  in  order  to  render  the 
stamps  perfect,  secure  from  imitation, 
and  their  separation  readier,  they 
should  be  perforated  as  in  England 
and  France. 

The  report  was  approved  by  the  Min- 
istry and  on  June  29th,  1859  the  Postal 
administration  was  authorised  to  obtain 
the  necessary  dies  for  the  new  issue; 
to  purchase  white  paper  for  printing 
the  stamps;  "to  furnish  the  outer  edges 
of  the  stamps  with  perforation,  so  as 
to  facilitate  their  separation,"  and  not 
to  print  any  more  stamps  in  the  old 
designs  but  to  use  up  all  existing 
supplies. 

From  motives  of  economy  it  was  de- 
cided to  join  with  Wurtemberg  in  the 
purchase  of  a  perforating  machine. 
This  was  obtained  from  Vienna  at  a 
cost  of  1200  florins  ($480.00)  and  set  up 
at  Carlsruhe  for  the  joint  use  of  both 
States. 

Immediate  steps  were  taken  to  pro- 
cure suitable  dies  for  the  new  issue 
and  a  specification  detailing  what  was 
required  was  sent  to  two  engravers — 
Ludwig  Kurz,  of  Frankfort,  and  Fried- 
erich  Eckard,  of  Carlsruhe.  According 
to  this  specification  the  design  was  to 
be  a  square  of  7l/2  Baden  lines,  or  23^2 
mm.,  there  was  to  be  one  original  die 
on  steel  or  copper  for  each  value,  and 
from  each  of  these  110  electrotypes 
were  to  be  made  "of  the  thickness  of 
a  Baden  copper  kreutzer"  and  mounted 
on  metal.  It  was  stipulated  that  proofs 
should  be  sent  and  that  the  engraving 
should  be  corrected  if  required.  The 
engravers  were  desired  to  specify  the 


price  at  which  they  would  undertake 
the  work.  With  each  specification  a 
carefully  executed  drawing  of  the  pro- 
posed design  in  Indian  ink  was  en- 
closed. Quoting  from  the  article  in  the 
Philatelic  Record  again  we  read: — 

The  engraver  Eckard  declined  to 
undertake  the  order  under  the  con- 
ditions,' but  on  the  15th  July,  Ludwig 
Kurz,  of  Frankfort,  offered  to  under- 
take the  work  at  the  price  of  10 
florins  for  each  die,  and  48kr  for 
each  of  the  110  electro-casts  of  each 
value.  The  cost  of  the  whole  would 
therefore  be  392  florins  ($156.80)'. 
The  order  was  given  to  Kurz  on  24th 
August,  1859,  and  in  October  follow- 
ing he  sent  in  a  proof  of  the  3kr 
stamp.  Some  alterations  were  ordered 
to  be  made,  and  on  8th  November 
he  was  informed  that  he  might  pro- 
ceed with  the  other  original  dies. 
On  the  23rd  November  he  sent  proofs 
of  the  1,  3,  6,  and  9kr,  and  he  then 
proceeded  with  the  electro-casts, 
which  he  delivered  by  the  23rd  Decem- 
ber— 111  of  each  value,  except  that 
of  the  3kr,  of  which  he  delivered  110. 
Kurz  states  that  he  engraved  the 
original  dies  on  copper  in  relief  with 
the  aid  of  aquafortis  and  that  the  draw- 
ing from  which  he  worked  was  fur- 
nished by  Herr  Klimsch,  of  Frankfort. 


The  design  shows  the  Arms  of  Baden 
with  supporters  within  a  square  frame 
on  a  horizontally  lined  ground.  In  the 
upper  border  "BADEN"  is  shown;  in 
the  lower  "KREUZER"  preceded  by  a 
numeral  appears ;  at  the  left  reading 
upwards  is  "FREIMARKE"  (Free 
stamp)  ;  and  at  the  right  reading  down- 
wards is  "POSTVEREIN"  (Postal 
Union).  All  the  inscriptions  are  in  un- 
colored  Egyptian  capitals  on  a  solid 
ground,  and  the  angles  are  filled  with 
rosaces.  The  plates  consisted  of  100 
electrotypes  arranged  in  ten  horizontal 
rows  of  ten,  the  extra  cliches  being 
held  in  reserve  in  case  any  of  the  others 
became  worn  or  damaged. 

In  February,  1860,  the  printer,  Has- 
per,  was  asked  to  submit  color  trials  of 
the  various  denominations.  This  order 
he  complied  with  and,  as  they  were  not 
approved,  he  submitted  further  ones 
later  on.  On  March  22nd,  he  was  in- 


formed that  the  following  colors  had 
been  chosen: — "For  the  Ikr,  good  Eng- 
lish black  printer's  ink;  for  the  3kr, 
Berlin  blue;  for  the  6kr,  dark  chrome 
yellow;  and  for  the  9kr,  light  Munich 
cochineal  lake.  He  was  directed  to 
make  special  efforts  to  keep  the  tints 
in  the  various  printings  quite  uniform 
— an  order  to  which  he  paid  no  particu- 
lar attention.  Plain  white  wove  paper 
was  used  for  this  issue  and,  the  question 
of  gumming  being  under  consideration, 
half  of  the  first  supply  was  gummed 
with  an  Austrian  adhesive  matter  made 
of  bone-glue,  and  the  other  half  was 
gummed  with  the  mucilage  used  in  Sax- 
ony— a  mixture  of  Syriac  gum  and 
glycerine.  The  latter  was  found  the 
most  satisfactory  and  it  was  used  for 
all  subsequent  supplies.  The  perforat- 
ing machine  gave  a  gauge  of  13l/2  and 
was  so  constructed  that  an  entire  sheet 
of  100  stamps  could  be  perforated  at 
once. 

The  Ikr  and  3kr  were  the  first  values 
to  be  printed  and  these  appear  to  have 
been  in  use  as  early  as  June  1860, 
though  the  catalogues  give  the  date  of 
issue  as  1861.  As  there  were  large 
stocks  of  the  old  6kr  and  9kr  numeral 
stamps,  which  it  was  decided  to  use  up, 
the  corresponding  values  of  the  Arms 
type  were  not  in  use  until  fairly  late 
in  1861  while  they  were  not  in  general 
circulation  throughout  the  grand-duchy 
until  the  following  year.  There  were 
several  printings  of  all  values  resulting 
in  several  strikingly  different  shades  for 
the  3kr  and  6kr.  Of  the  former  a  print- 
ing in  Prussian  blue  is  distinctly  rare 
unused. 

In  1862  the  perforating  machine  was 
overhauled  and  fitted  with  a  new  set 
of  punches  which  gave  a  gauge  of  10 
in  place  of  the  previous  IS1/^.  The  ex- 
act date  at  which  this  took  place  is  not 
known  but  it  was  sometime  between 
March  and  June.  Supplies  of  all  stamps 
printed  in  June  or  later  are,  therefore, 
perforated  10. 

In  March  1861  the  Prussian  Postal 
Administration  addressed  a  circular  to 
the  various  States  forming  the  German 
Austrian  Postal  Union  proposing  that 
uniform  colors  should  be  adopted  for 
stamps  of  the  same  or  corresponding 
values.  This  applied  only  to  the  stamps 
in  use  for  the  three  rates  of  postage 
equivalent  to  1,  2,  and  3sgr,  and  so  far 
as  Baden  was  concerned  this  affected 
all  but  the  Ikr.  The  colors  decided  on 
were  rose  for  the  3kr,  blue  for  the  6kr, 
and  brown  for  the  9kr.  Baden  agreed 
to  the  proposition  which  came  into  ef- 
fect just  prior  to  the  alteration  of  the 
gauge  of  the  perforating  machine. 
About  this  period,  too,  some  modifica- 


tion  of  the  design  was  under  discussion. 
Following  the  many  changes  round 
about  this  date  in  strict  chronological 
order  is  likely  to  result  in  confusion 
and  it  will,  therefore,  be  simpler  to 
deal,  first  of  all,  with  the  changes  as 
they  affected  the  stamps  of  the  type 
with  lined  background.  None  of  the 
3kr  stamps  in  the  new  rose  color  were 
printed  in  this  type  for  reasons  we  shall 
detail  later  on.  Although  supplies  of 
the  6kr  and  9kr  in  the  new  colors  of 
blue  and  brown  respectively  were  or- 
dered in  December  1861,  none  appear 
to  have  been  delivered  until  the  sum- 
mer of  1862.  Notwithstanding  this 
fact  an  official  notification  of  the  change 
of  colors  was  made  to  postmasters  on 
Jan.  29th,  1862,  and  this  has  thus 
(though  erroniously)  been  frequently 
stated  as  the  date  of  issue.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  the  6kr  could  not  have  been 
used  earlier  than  August,  1862,  while 
the  9kr  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
in  general  circulation  until  the  follow- 
ing year. 

Reference  List. 

1860-63.     No    Watermark.     Perf.    13%    or    10. 

9.  Ikr  black,  Scott's  No.  10  or  15. 

10.  3kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  11  or  No.  12. 

11.  6kr  orange,  Scott's  No.  13  or  13a. 

12.  6kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  16. 

13.  9kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  14. 

14.  9kr  brown,  Scott's  No.  17  or  17a. 


THE  FOURTH   ISSUE. 

After  the  printing  of  the  3kr  stamps 
in  June  1861  it  was  found  that,  although 
little  more  than  60,000  sheets  had  been 
supplied  from  first  to  last,  the  cliches 
had  become  too  badly  worn  to  be  of 
further  use.  As  a  new  set  was  neces- 
sary advantage  was  taken  of  this  fact 
to  ascertain  whether  a  modification  of 
the  design  would  not  improve  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  stamps.  Kurz  was  sup- 
plied with  two  of  the  cliches  to  see 
what  he  could  do  and  from  one  of  these 
he  removed  every  alternate  line  of  the 
background  and  from  the  other  he 
erased  the  lines  entirely  so  that  the 
Arms  stood  out  on  a  plain  rectangle. 
The  latter  was  considered  such  an  im- 
provement that  the  original  dies  of  all 
four  values  were  returned  to  Kurz  for 
attention.  The  renovated  dies  were 


ready  for  use  early  in  August  1861  but 
as  only  the  3kr  was  immediately  neces- 
sary Hasper  was  instructed  to  prepare 
110  cliches  for  the  new  plate  for  this 
denomination.  A  first  printing  of  the 
3kr  in  the  new  type  was  ordered  late 
in  1861  and  a  first  delivery  of  2000 
sheets  was  made  in  March  1862.  These 
stamps  arrived  at  the  period  when  the 
overhauling  of  the  perforating  machine 
had  been  decided  on  but  there  was  such 
urgent  need  for  3kr  stamps  that  this 
supply  was  perforated  before  the  new 
punches  were  fitted.  We  thus  find  the 
3kr  of  this  issue  perforated  13^  as 
well  as  10  like  the  other  values.  With 
the  13 1/2  gauge  the  stamp  is  quite  a 
rarity  unused  and  fairly  scarce  used. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  fact 
that  the  dies  for  the  Ikr,  6kr  and  9kr 
had  the  background  removed  in  1861 
but  it  was  not  until  the  close  of  the  year 
1863  that  Hasper  found  it  necessary  to 
construct  plates  from  the  altered  dies. 
He  now  made  110  cliches  of  each  value 
.to  be  ready  for  the  printing  of  1864 
though  none  of  the  new  6kr  were  de- 
livered until  April  of  that  year  while 
the  Ikr  and  9kr  were  not  supplied  un- 
til June.  On  the  17th  of  June,  1864, 
a  circular  was  sent  to  the  various  post- 
offices  stating  that  the  new  postage 
stamps  of  6  and  9  kreuzer,  with  plain 
background,  would  be  supplied  from  the 
General  Post  Store  in  the  next  quarter, 
and  the  Ikr  stamps  of  similar  design 
in  the  following  quarter.  From  this 
order  it  is  evident  the  6kr  and  9kr  could 
not  have  been  in  use  prior  to  July  or 
the  Ikr  until  October  1864.  Other  print- 
ings took  place  later  on  and  as  the 
printer  apparently  made  no  special  en- 
deavor to  keep  the  colors  of  the  print- 
ing inks  uniform  quite  a  wide  range  of 
shades  may  be  found  in  all  except  the 
Ikr  denomination.  Of  these  the  rarest 
is  the  6kr  in  a  Prussian  blue  like  that 
of  the  similar  tint  found  in  connection 
with  the  3kr  of  the  preceding  issue. 
The  3kr  is  known  imperforate  while 
the  9kr  in  the  bistre  shade  has  been 
found  printed  on  both  sides. 

We  now  retrace  our  steps  a  little  to 
1861  when  the  alteration  of  design  and 
change  of  colors  was  under  discussion. 
In  the  same  year  a  desire  was  expressed 
for  stamps  of  a  higher  value  than  9kr, 
the  first  step  being  taken  by  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  of  Mannheim,  who 
proposed  to  the  Baden  Ministry  of 
Commerce  that  18kr  and  30kr  stamps 
should  be  created.  Although  the  use  of 
the  then  current  12kr  and  18kr  en- 
velopes had  been  very  restricted  the 
Ministry  decided  to  introduce  18kr  and 
30kr  labels  and  Kurz  was  commissioned 
to  supply  the  necessary  dies  for  these 


values.  The  dies,  which  were  in  the 
design  with  plain  background,  were  de- 
livered on  October,  28th,  1861,  and  Has- 
per  at  once  proceeded  to  make  the 
cliches  for  the  printing  plates.  The 
colors  decided  on  were  green  for  the 
18kr  and  cinnabar-red  for  the  30kr. 
After  a  small  number  of  sheets  of  the 
higher  value  had  been  printed  Hasper 
reported  that  "the  cinnabar-red  was  not 
fit  for  printing  from  galvano-plastic 
plates,  as  the  quicksilver  acted  injuri- 
ously on  the  copper."  He  was  conse- 
quently ordered  to  print  this  value  in 
orange  for  the  future.  Whether  the 
stamps  in  cinnabar-red  were  placed  in 
use  or  not  is  not  certain.  Westoby 
lists  it  as  haying  been  issued  and  if 
his  statement  is  correct  the  stamps  in 
this  color  must  be  of  extreme  rarity. 
Other  printings  were  made  from  time 
to  time  though  neither  of  the  values 
seems  to  have  been  in  very  great  de- 
mand. The  total  quantity  of  18kr  printed 
was  315,200  and  of  these  151,012  were  de- 
stroyed in  July,  1870  as  the  new  postal 
rates  made  the  value  absolutely  useless. 
The  total  supply  of  the  30kr  stamps 
numbered  430,400  and  though  compara- 
tively few  were  used,  and  the  stamp 
is  rare  in  this  condition,  it  is  common 
enough  unused  as  the  remainders  were 
sold  to  a  dealer  some  years  later. 

.Reference  List. 

1862-64.     No     Watermark.     Perf.     13  y2      (3kr 
only)  or  10. 

15.  Ikr  black,  Scott's  No.  19. 

16.  3kr  rose  Scott's  Nos.  18,  20,  or  20a. 

17.  6kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  21  or  22. 

18.  9kr  brown,  Scott's  No.  23  or  23a. 

19.  18kr  green,  Scott's  No.  24. 

20.  30kr  orange,  Scott's  No.  25. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

At  the  end  of  1867  the  North  German 
Postal  Confederation,  which  was  then 
formed,  established  a  new  scale  of  rates 
to  take  effect  from  January  1st,  1868. 
The  rate  on  letters  weighing  under  *4  oz. 
was  fixed  at  3kr  and  that  on  heavier 
letters  up  to  l/2  oz.  at  7kr.  The  latter 
rate  also  applied  to  letters  sent  to 
Switzerland,  Belgium,  and  North 
America  by  way  of  Prussia,  and  later 
on  it  was  extended  to  other  foreign 
countries.  The  necessity  of  creating  a 
new  stamp  of  7kr  was  at  once  apparent. 
The  Baden  Post  Office  in  recommend- 
ing the  issue  of  this  new  value  at  the 
same  time  suggested  the  withdrawal  of 
the  18kr  value  and  reported  that  there 
was  sufficient  stock  on  hand  of  the  6kr, 
9kr,  and  30kr  to  last  for  years.  The 


stock  of  the  18kr  was,  therefore,  with- 
drawn and  destroyed  as  we  have  already 
stated.  It  was  decided  to  issue  a  7kr 
stamp  as  recommended  and  Maier — an 
engraver  of  Carlsruhe — was  entrusted 
with  the  task  of  preparing  the  die.  As 
the  inscription  "POSTVEREIN,"  on 
the  right-hand  side  of  the  frame,  no 
longer  applied,  the  word  "FREI- 
MARKE"  was  subsituted.  It  will  be 
noted  that  the  inscriptions  are  in  thicker 
type  than  before  (especially  as  regards 
"BADEN")  and  the  value  at  foot  is 
contracted  to  "KR".  The  work  is  al- 
together much  inferior  to  that  of  Kurz. 
At  the  same  time  it  was  decided  to 
alter  the  designs  of  the  Ikr  and  3kr  to 
correspond  with  the  new  7kr.  It  would 
appear  that  Maier  only  engraved  one 
matrix,  with  the  numerals  of  value 
omitted,  and  from  this  the  three  sec- 
ondary dies  required  were  constructed. 
Although  the  new  rates  were  effective 
as  and  from  January  1st,  1868,  the  7kr 
stamps  were  not  ready  for  issue  until 
October  and  the  modified  Ikr  and  3kr 
were  issued  about  the  same  time.  An 
official  notice,  dated  September  1868, 
was  circulated  to  the  post-masters  inti- 
mating them  of  the  change  of  design, 
viz : — 

A  printing  of  three  sorts  of  stamps 
from  a  new  die  will  be  ready  this  year. 
These  are  the  stamps  of  1  and  3  kreu- 
zer,  and  a  new  value  of  7  kreuzer. 
The  design  is  the  same  as  before,  ex- 
cept that  the  word  FREIMARKE  is 
repeated  in  the  right  side  of  the  frame, 
in  place  of  POSTVEREIN  as  here- 
tofore. The  value  is  indicated  by  a 
numeral,  and  the  letters  KR. 

The  colours  of  the  new  issue  are — 
1  kreuzer  green,  3  kreuzer  red,  as 
before,  and  the  7  kreuzer  blue,  but 
of  a  darker  tone  than  the  present  6 
kreuzer  stamp.  The  delivery  of  the 
new  1  kreuzer  stamp  to  the  Post- 
offices  has.  already  begun,  and  that  of 
the  3  kreuzer  will  follow  as  soon  as 
the  old  stamps  in  the  chief  depots 
have  been  exhausted.  The  delivery  of 
thej  kreuzer  stamps  will  follow  at  the 
beginning  of  the  next  quarter,  and,  un- 
less otherwise  ordered,  in  the  quan- 
tities necessary  for  each  of  the  Grand 
Ducal  Post-offices. 

There  were  further  printings  of  these 
stamps  in  the  years  1869,  1870,  and  1871. 
On  December  31st  of  the  latter  year 
the  Postal  Administration  of  Baden 
ceased  to  exist  as  a  separate  institution, 
and  on  January  1st,  1872,  its  stamps 
were  superseded  by  those  of  the  German 
-Empire. 


Reference  List. 
1868.     No    watermark.     Perf.    10. 
21.     Ikr   green,    Scott's   No.   26. 
L'L'.     :%,kr    rose,    Scott's    No.    27. 
23.     Tkr   blue,    Scott's   No.   28. 


THE  LAND  POST  STAMPS. 

In  1850  a  rural  post  was  established 
in  Baden,  its  chief  object  being  to  oper- 
ate a  messenger  service  connecting  rural 
villages  which  had  no  post-offices  of 
their  own  with  the  nearest  State  Post- 
office.  It  had  an  organisation  of  its 
own,  distinct  from  the  State  Post,  but 
to  which,  nevertheless,  it  was  an  ad- 
junct. In  the  year  1862  a  Grand  Ducal 
decree  was  issued,  under  the  date  of 
26th  September,  authorising  improve- 
ments in  connection  with  this  rural  post 
and  Ikr,  3kr,  and  12kr  stamps  were  or- 
dered to  be  prepared  for  its  use.  These 
stamps  are  of  similar  design  showing 
large  numerals  in  the  centre  with 
"LAXD-POST"  above  and  "PORTO- 
MARKE"  below.  An  ornamental  bor- 
der completed  this  very  unpretentious 
design.  All  were  printed  in  black  on 
yellow  wove  paper  and  perforated  10. 
The  inscription  "Porto-marke"  indi- 


cates they  were  postage  due  stamps  but 
they  were  not  postage  due  stamps  in 
the  ordinary  meaning  of  the  term. 
These  labels  were  used  solely  in  con- 
nection with  the  rural  post  and  in  ad- 
dition to  being  used  to  collect  deficient 
postage,  they  were  used  to  collect  the 
delivery  charge  on  parcels,  and  for  va- 
rious purposes  such  as  the  collection  and 
conveyance  of  money.  At  this  period  the 
Post-office  collected  taxes  and,  in  some 
instances,  debts  due  to  tradesmen.  For 
this  service  it  charged  a  commission 
fixed  at  the  rate  of  Ikr  per  florin  and 
this  commission  was  denoted  by  means 
of  these  rural  post  stamps.  The  stamps 
were  not  sold  to  the  public  but  were 
used  only  by  officers  of  the  rural  post. 

The  stamps  are  scarce  used,  especially 
the  12kr  but  they  are  common  enough 
unused  owing  to  the  fact  that  in  1873 
Julius  Goldner,  of  Hamburg,  purchased 
the  remainders  consisting  of  322,800  of 
the  Ikr,  455,400  of  the  3kr  and  160,000 
of  the  12kr. 


\9e^sy-^>o^ 


1862. 
24. 


Reference  List. 
RURAL  STAMPS. 
No  watermark.     Perf  10. 
Ikr  black  on   yellow,   Scott's  No.  29. 


25.  3kr  black  on  yellow,   Scott's  No.  30. 

26.  12kr  black  on  yellow,  Scott's  No.  31. 


BAVARIA. 


Bavaria,  or  Bayern,  is  a  kingdom  of 
the  German  Empire,  consisting  of  two 
detached  portions — the  smaller  being 
west  of  the  Rhine,  between  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  Rhineland  and  Hesse-Darm- 
stadt; and  the  larger  east  of  the  Rhine, 
between,  Bohemia,  Austria,  Switzerland, 
Wurtemberg,  and  Baden.  It  has  an 
area  of  29,286  square  miles  and  a  popu- 
lation well  in  excess  of  six  millions,  the 
majority  of  whom  are  Roman  Catholics. 
Bavaria  forms  a  hereditary  constitu- 
tional monarchy,  the  legislative  power 
being  invested  in  the  king  and  two  leg- 
islative chambers.  The  kingdom  has 
six  votes  in  the  federal  council  and 
sends  forty-eight  members  to  the  Im- 
perial Diet. 

Baiern,  or  Boiaria,  land  of  the  Bpii, 
overrun  by  Rome  of  the  early  empire, 
was  divided  into  three  provinces — 


Rhaetia,  Vindelicia,  and  Noricum.  On 
the  breakup  of  the  Roman  power,  the 
country,  occupied  by  the  Teutonic  tribe 
of  Baguwarians  (Bavarians)  at  the 
close  of  the  5th  century,  was  ruled 
by  dukes,  first  elective,  then  hereditary. 
After  a  struggle  of  two  .  hundred 
years,  Bavaria,  absorbed  by  the 
Franks,  was  ruled  by  Charlemagne,  who 
left  his  descendants  as  margraves  (788- 
900)  to  hold  the  marches  against  Hun 
and  Bohemian. 

The  title  of  duke  was  restored  (920) 
for  services  rendered  to  the  empire,  and 
Bavaria  helped  the  Emperor  Otto  I.  to 
defeat  the  Huns  at  Augsburg.  In  the 
middle  ages  there  were  constant  quar- 
rels between  duke  and  emperor;  and 
the  towns,  which  were  either  imperial 
or  free  (Augsburg,  Nuremberg),  eccle- 
siastical (Bamburg),  or  ruled  by  princes 


(Baireuth),  rose  into  importance 
through  the  transit  of  Italian  trade 
northwards,  and  again  declined  owing 
to  the  development  of  sea-borne  com- 
merce. During  the  same  period  the 
boundaries  of  Bavaria  underwent  con- 
tinual change. 

In  1180  Frederick  Barbarossa  con- 
ferred the  duchy  on  Otto,  Count  of 
Wittelsbach,  founder  of  the  present 
Royal  house.  Maximilian  I.  (1598- 
1623)  was  made  elector,  and  received 
the  northern  half  of  Bavaria,  owing  to 
Tilly's  victory  over  the  elector  Palatine. 
The  French  defeat  of  Blenheim  (1704) 
was  shared  by  Bavaria,  but  after  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht  (1713)  the  elector 
was  re-instated  in  his  dominions.  There- 
after Bavaria  oscillated  between  the 
French  and  German  alliance,  being  in- 
vaded (1796)  by  Moreau,  who  occu- 
pied Munich;  siding  with  Napoleon  I., 
who  created  Maximilian  Joseph  I.  a 
king  (1805-6)  ;  and,  subsequently,  se- 
cured in  her  new  dignity  by  the  allies, 
helping  to  overthrow  her  benefactor 
(1813).  In  1866  Bavaria  sided  with 
Austria  in  the  Austro-Prussian  war, 
and  had  to  pay  the  penalty  of  its  choice 
in  the  shape  of  an  indemnity  and  the 
cession  of  territory  to  Prussia. 

In  1886  the  throne  of  Bavaria  passed 
to  Otto  Wilhelm  Luitpold  who,  how- 
ever, owing  to  mental  incapacity  has 
never  taken  any  active  part  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  his  kingdom.  His  uncle, 
Prince  Leopold,  was  appointed  Regent 
and  was  virtually  ruler  until  the  time 
of  his  death  a  few  months  ago  at  the 
advanced  age  of  90  years. 

Although  Bavaria  became  a  member 
•of  the  German  Empire  in  1870,  she  re- 
tained certain  independent  privileges, 
amongst  them  being  the  sole  control  of 
her  postal  system.  Bavaria  is  the  only 
German  State  to  still  issue  its  own  dis- 
tinctive postage  stamps  for  Wurtem- 
berg,  which  for  a  long  period  also  is- 
sued its  own  stamps,  relinquished  the 
privilege  on  April  1st,  1902. 

Bavaria  was  the  first  of  the  German 
States  to  adopt  adhesive  postage  stamps, 
its  pioneer  labels  appearing  in  1849. 
From  that  date  until  1876  the  currency 
of  the  kingdom  was  the  florin  of  60 
kreuzer  worth  about  40c  in  United 
States  money.  In  1876  the  Imperial 
currency  of  pfennige  and  marks  was 
adopted. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

An  ordinance  of  King  Maximilian, 
dated  June  5th,  1849,  authorised  the 
issue  of  postage  stamps  and  fixed  the 
rates  of  postage.  Local  letters  and 


printed  matter  were  carried  for  1 
kreuzer,  subject  to  certain  limitations 
of  weight;  the  rate  on  ordinary  single 
letters  (weighing  not  more  than  1  loth 
or  %oz.)  was  fixed  at  6kr  for  distances 
up  to  12  German  miles;  while  6  kreuzer 
was  the  charge  for  carrying  single  let- 
ters for  longer  distances.  Postage 
stamps  of  these  values  were,  therefore, 
prepared  and,  according  to  an  elaborate 
"code  of  instructions"  dated  October 
25th,  1849,  these  were  to  be  placed  on 
sale  on  November  1st  following.  The 
only  items  we  need  reproduce  are  those 
concerning  the  prepayment  of  letters 
viz. — 

1.  From    the    1st    November    next 
the      prepayment      of      matter      sent 
by     post     in     the     interior     of     Ba- 
varia    must     be     effected     exclusive- 
ly    by     stamps,     which     the     Postal 
Administration     is     entitled     to     sell 
according      to      Art.      VII      of      the 
Royal    Ordinance    of    June    5th;    and 
for  the  correspondence,  the  marking 
of  the  postage  on  the  seal-side  of  the 
letter,    prescribed    up    till    now,    must 
be  stopped. 

2.  The    stamps    intended    for    the 
prepayment   bear    the    figures    of    the 
single    rates,    according    to    the    new 
tariff  for  the  interior  of  Bavaria,  of 
1   kreuzer   in  black,   of   3  kreuzer   in 
blue,  and  of  6  kreuzer  in  brown-red 
colors.    Each   stamp  of   the  last  two 
kinds    carries    in    itself    a    red    silk 
thread    running   from   top   to   bottom, 
as  evidence  of  its  genuineness. 

The  design,  common  to  all  three 
values,  shows  a  double  lined  numeral, 
ornamented  with  arabesques,  within  a 
square  frame.  In  the  top  border  is 
"BAYERN"  (Bavaria),  in. the  bottom 
one  is  "FRANCO"  (Free),  at  the  right 
is  "KREUZER",  and  at  the  left  the 
value  in  words— "EIN",  "DREI",  or 
"SECHS".  In  the  small  squares  in  the 
angles  the  value  is  denoted  in  figures  on 
a  checkered  ground.  The  large  central 
numeral  on  the  Ikr  is  on  a  ground  of 
mazework  which  occupies  the  whole  of 
the  interior  square.  In  the  case  of  the 
3kr  and  6kr  the  numerals  are  on  a  circu- 
lar ground  of  solid  color,  this  circle  be- 
ing flattened  where  it  meets  the  inner 
lines  of  the  border,  thus  causing  the 
type  generally  known  as  "broken  circle." 
The  spandrels,  or  spaces  in  the  angles, 
are  filled  with  arabesque  ornamentation. 
The  designs  were  drawn  by  Mr.  P. 
Haseney,  and  the  dies  were  engraved 
on  steel  by  Mr.  F.  J.  Seitz,  of  Munich. 
The  printing  plates  were  constructed  of 
separate  blocks  or  cliches  struck  from 
the  original  dies  and  clamped  together 
in  a  printer's  chase.  For  the  plate  of 
the  Ikr  the  casts  were  taken  in  ordinary 


10 


type-metal  there  being  ninety  of  these 
in  all,  arranged  in  ten  horizontal  rows 
of  nine.  The  printing  plates  for  the 
3kr  and  6kr  also  consisted  of  ninety 
impressions  but  these  were  arranged  in 
two  panes  of  45  each  (nine  rows  of 
five)  placed  side  by  side.  The  cliches 
for  these  values  were  struck  in  brass 
at  the  Mint  and  these  impressions  were 
soldered  on  to  bars  of  iron  in  rows  of 
five.  The  stamps  were  printed  by  Mr. 
J.  G.  Weiss,  of  Munich. 

The  Ikr  was  printed  on  ordinary 
white  wove  paper,  but  for  the  other  two 
denominations  a  special  greyish-white 
paper  was  employed,  in  the  fabric  of 
which  red  threads  were  introduced. 
This  paper,  known  as  "Dickenson" 
paper  from  the  name  of  its  inventor, 
had  the  threads  arranged  at  intervals 
of  20  mm.  so  that  one  thread  appeared 
in  each  stamp.  According  to  a  writer 
in  the  Philatelic  Record  for  March, 
1893, 

The    threads    were    introduced    into 
the  paper  lengthways  of  the  continu- 
ous   roll,    and    not    inserted    between 
t\vo    laminae    of    the    pulp,    but    were 
pressed    into    the    pulp    as    it    reached 
the    "couching    rollers,"    which,    aided 
by    the    suction    boxes,    remove    the 
greater  part  of  the   remaining  water, 
and   turn   the   sheet  of  pulp   into  one 
of   paper.     It   was   evidently   intended 
that   the   thread   should   be   especially 
visible  on  the  back  of  the  stamp,  and 
impressions    which    shew    it    on    the 
front    are    frequently    classified    sepa- 
rately   by    philatelists    as    being    ex- 
ceptions to  the  rule,  and  constituting 
varieties,    due    only,    however,    to    the 
printer    having    taken    the    impression 
on  the  wrong  side  of  the  paper. 
The    plate    of    the    Ikr    soon    showed 
signs  of  wear  owing  to  the  comparative 
softness   of  the   type-metal   of  which   it 
was      composed.     Consequently,      about 
September,  1850,  a  new  plate  was  made 
for  this  value  the  cliches  of  which  were 
made  of  brass  similar  to  those  employed 
for  the  3kr  and  6kr.     The  new  plate  had 
Jthe  ninety  stamps  arranged  in  two  panes 
of    forty-five    each.     Only    2000    sheets 
were  printed  from  this  new  plate  when 
it   was   decided  to   alter   the   color   and 
also    to   adopt    a    design    conforming   to 
that  of  the  other  denominations.     These 
later  impressions  of  the  Ikr  taken  from 
the  brass  plate  can  be  distinguished  by 
the  greater   sharpness   and  clearness   of 
the   design.     The   color   is   also   a   more 
intense    black    than    that    used    for    the 
earlier  printings. 

The  Ikr  is  known  with  silk  thread  in 
the  paper.  This  variety  is  a  proof  or 
essay  but  that  it  is  of  considerable 
rarity  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that 


Gibbons  prices  it  at  $30.  The  Ikr  is 
recorded  as  existing  in  a  tete-beche 
pair  but  whether  this  is  a  true  tete- 
beche,  caused  by  the  inversion  of  one 
of  the  cliches  on  the  plate,  or  due  to 
two  impressions  (one  upside  down  in 
relation  to  the  other)  being  printed  on 
the  same  sheet  of  paper,  I  cannot  say. 

The  6kr  stamp  of  this  issue  is  an  ex- 
ceedingly rare  variety  unused.  The  3kr 
may  be  found  in  a  number  of  distinctive 
shades  of  which  the  deeper  tints  are 
much  the  rarer. 

There  are  no  reprints  of  these  stamps. 


i    BAYERN   I 


1    FRANCO    1 


Reference  List. 

1  Nov.  1849.  No  watermark.  The  3kr  and 
6kr  have  a  silk  thread  in  the  paper. 
Imperf. 

1.  Ikr  black,  Scott's  No.  1,  or  No.  la. 

2.  3kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  2,  No.  2a,  or  No. 

2b. 

3.  6kr  brown,  Scott's  No.  4. 


THE   SECOND   ISSUE. 

In  April,  1850  Bavaria  joined  the 
German-Austrian  Postal  Union  and  as 
the  rate  on  single  letters  between  the 
states  belonging  to  the  convention  had 
been  fixed  at  9  kreuzer,  arrangements 
had  to  be  made  to  issue  a  label  of  this 
denomination.  Its  approaching  issue 
was  announced  by  a  Post-office  notice, 
dated  25th  June,  1850,  and  it  was  ac- 
tually placed  in  use  on  July  1st,  1850. 
The  design  of  this  new  9kr  is  very 
similar  to  that  of  the  3kr  and  6kr  of 
1849  with  one  important  exception — 
the  circle  containing  the  large  central 
numeral  is  a  perfect  sphere  and  not 
flattened  where  it  touches  the  frame 
lines. 

The  die  was  probably  engraved  by 
Seitz  and  the  plate  was  constructed  by 
the  ordinary  electrotype  process.  It 
consisted  of  two  panes  placed  side  by 
side.  Each  pane  was  composed  of  45 
casts  arranged  in  nine  rows  of  five, 
with  vertical  and  horizontal  lines  be- 
tween them,  and  a  single  line  around 
the  whole.  The  plate  was  backed  with 
type  metal  so  as  to  render  it  quite  solid. 
The  color  chosen  was  yellow  green  but 
a  printing  was  made  in  a  pale  blue 
green — a  shade  that  is  of  considerable 
rarity  unused.  The  stamps  were  im- 
perforate  and  printed  on  the  paper  with 
silk  threads. 


11 


An  official  notice,  dated  October  1st, 
1850,  announced  that  the  color  of  the 
1  kreuzer  stamp  would  be  changed  from 
black  to  rose.  But  not  only  was  the 
color  changed  but  the  design  was 
altered  to  conform  with  that  of  the 
other  denominations.  It  was  similar  to 
that  of  the  9kr;  the  circle  being  com- 
plete and  not  intercepted  by  the  inner 
lines  of  the  inscribed  border.  The 
plate  was  made  by  the  same  process, 
the  sheets  consisted  of  ninety  stamps 
in  two  panes  as  in  the  case  of  the  9kr, 
and  the  same  silk-thread  paper  was 
used. 

A  new  plate  was  also  constructed  for 
the  6kr,  this  likewise  having  the  circu- 
lar ground  complete.  At  what  date 
this  was  brought  into  use  is  uncertain 
but  probably  some  time  in  1851. 

On  July  19th,  1854,  a  Government 
notice  was  issued  intimating  that  a 
stamp  of  higher  value  than  9kr  would 
be  issued  for  the  general  convenience 
of  the  public,  and  on  August  1st  fol- 
lowing, an  18kr  stamp  made  its  ap- 
pearance. In  design,  method  of  manu- 
facture, etc.,  this  value  corresponds  to 
those  already  described. 

A  postal  convention  between  Bavaria 
and  France  came  into  operation  on 
July  1st,  1858,  it  being  mutually  agreed 
that  the  postage  on  a  letter  not  exceed- 
ing 10  grammes  in  weight  should  be 
12kr.  A  new  stamp  representing  this 
rate  was  placed  on  sale  in  Bavaria  on 
the  day  the  new  convention  came  into 
force,  the  design  corresponding  to 
that  of  the  other  values  then  current. 

The  3kr  underwent  no  change  either 
of  design  or  color  so  this  denomination 
does  not  exist  with  completed  circle. 
As  it  was  in  use  from  1849  until  1862 
it  may  be  found  in  a  wide  range  of 
shades. 

Reference*  List. 

1850-58.     A  silk  thread  in  the  paper.     Imperf. 

4.  Ikr  rose,  Scott's  No.  5. 

5.  6kr  brown,  Scott's  No.  3. 

6.  9kr  green,  Scott's  No.  6,  or  No.  6a. 

7.  12kr  red,  Scott's  No.  7. 

8.  18kr  yellow,    Scott's   No.   8. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

An  official  notice,  dated  July  6th, 
1862,  announced  that  on  October  1st 
following,  various  changes  would  be 
made  in  the  colors  of  the  different 
values,  viz. — 

The  3  kreuzer,  taken  as  equivalent 
to  5  Austrian  neugroschen  or  1  sil- 
bergroschen,  will  for  the  future  be 
printed  in  rose  instead  of  blue. 

The  6  kreuzer,  equivalent  to  10 
Austrian  neugroschen  or  2  silber- 


groschen,  will  be  printed  in  blue  in- 
stead of  brown. 

The  9  kreuzer,  equivalent  to  15 
Austrian  neugroschen  or  3  silber- 
groschen,  will  be  printed  in  light 
brown  instead  of  green. 

The  colors  of  the  remaining  values 
will  be  altered  from  the  same  date  as 
follows : — 

The  1  kreuzer,  from  rose  to  yellow. 
The  12  kreuzer,  from  red  to  green. 
The  18  kreuzer,  from  yellow  to 

vermilion    red. 

The  change  in  the  colors  of  the  3,  6, 
and  9  kreuzer  was  made  so  that  these 
denominations  would  correspond  to 
those  of  the  other  signatories  to  the 
German-Austrian  postal  union  and  this, 
of  course,  necessitated  the  changes  in 
the  other  values  to  prevent  confusion. 
The  exact  dates  of  issue  of  the  new 
varieties  is  not  known.  All  we  know 
is  that  the  stamps  in  the  new  colors 
were  placed  on  sale  as  the  stocks  in 
the  former  tints  became  exhausted. 
The  stamps  were  printed  from  the 
same  plates  as  before  and  in  most  of 
them  considerable  variation  of  shade 
may  be  found.  The  6kr  in  ultramarine 
is  a  rare  shade  worth  looking  for. 

This  completes  the  history  of  the 
"numeral"  stamps  of  Bavaria  but  be- 
fore dealing  with  the  later  issues  it  will 
be  as  well  to  refer  to  certain  varieties, 
printed  in  black  on  colored  paper,  so 
that  there  may  be  no  misunderstanding 
as  to  their  status  should  any  of  our 
readers  come  across  them.  We  can  best 
do  this  by  reprinting  the  following  para- 
graph from  the  Philatelic  Record: — 

It  was  the  custom  in  Bavaria  to 
make  up  the  stamps  for  the  supply  of 
the  post-offices  into  packets  of  fifty 
sheets,  and  these  were  placed  in  cov- 
ers of  various  colored  paper,  on  which 
a  copy  of  the  stamp,  with  the  number 
of  sheets  and  stamps  in  the  packet, 
was  printed  in  black.  No  order  for 
this  is  found  among  the  official  docu- 
ments relating  to  the  earlier  issues, 
but  the  system  continued  in  use  till 
the  close  of  the  numeral  issues. 
During  the  period  which  commenced 
subsequently  to  the  issue  of  the  1 
kreuzer,  type  II,  down  to  October, 
1862,  the  color  of  the  paper  for  the 
1  kreuzer  was  gray,  that  for  the  3 
kreuzer  was  blue,  that  for  the  6 
kreuzer  was  brown,  that  for  the  9 
kreuzer  was  green,  that  for  the  12 
kreuzer  was  red,  and  that  for  the 
18  kreuzer  was  yellow.  The  stamps 
impressed  on  the  covers  had  no  postal 
value  whatever,  and  were  simply 
printed  on  the  covers  as  an  indication 
of  the  particular  value  of  the  stamps 
contained  in  them. 


12 


Reference  List. 

1862.     A    silk    thread    in    the    paper. 


Imperf. 


9.     Ikr  yellow,   Scott's  No.  9. 

10.  3kr  rose,   Scott's   No.   10. 

11.  6kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  11. 
1±     9kr  bistre,   Scott's   No.   12. 

13.  12kr  green,  Scott's  No.  13. 

14.  18kr  red,  Scott's  No.  14,  or  No.  14a. 


THE    FOURTH    ISSUE. 

The  adoption  of  a  new  design  for  the 
stamps  of  Bavaria  evidently  involved 
much  serious  consideration  for,  though 
the  idea  was  mooted  in  the  early  part  of 
1865  and  proofs  were  actually  existent 
twelve  months  later,  it  was  not  until 
January  1st,  1867,  that  the  stamps  were 
really  issued.  The  approaching  change 
was  'announced  by  means  of  a  Govern- 
ment Notice  dated  December  14th,  1866, 
the  salient  provisions  of  which  were  as 
follows  : — 

With  the  Royal  approval  a  new  is- 
sue of  postage  stamps  has  been  pre- 
pared, which  will  be  issued  according 
to  the  consumption  of  the  stock  of 
the  existing  values. 

The  new  stamps  are,  like  the 
former,  printed  in  color  on  white 
paper  traversed  by  a  red  silk  thread, 
and  bear  the  Royal  Arms  of  Bavaria, 
with  the  two  supporters  in  white  re- 
lief on  a  colored  ground,  and  with 
the  numeral  of  value  in  each  angle. 
The  stamps  will,  like  the  former,  be 
issued  for  the  values  of  1,  3,  6,  9,  12, 
and  18  kreuzer. 

The  colors  of  the  stamps  of  3,  6, 
9,  and  18  kreuzer  are,  as  in  the  former 
issue,  carmine-red,  blue,  light  brown, 
and  vermilion-red;  the  stamps  of  the 
1  kreuzer  are  green  in  place  of  yel- 
low, and  those  of  12  kreuzer  violet 
in  place  of  green. 

The  delivery  of  the  new  stamps  to 
the   post-offices    will   be   in    sheets    of 
60  pieces,  and  in  larger  quantities  in 
packets  of  50  sheets. 
The  design  consists  of  the  Arms  of 
Bavaria  surmounted  by  a  Royal  crown 
with    lions    as    supporters.     Under    the 
Arms     is     scroll     ornamentation     with 
"KREUZER"   in   small  capitals   below; 
while   above  is   the  name  "BAYERN." 
The   preceding   details    are    on    a   back- 
ground of  solid  color  and  of  somewhat 
eccentric  shape.     In  the  angles  are  num- 
erals   in    white    on    solid    colored    discs 
to  denote  the  various  values,  while  the 
spandrels    are    filled    with    ornamental 
scrolls.     In  referring  to  the  change  of 
design    the    Stamp     Collectors'    Maga- 
zine,   made    the     following    interesting 
comments  on  stamp  designs  in  general : 


The  substitution  of  an  elegant  de- 
sign like  this  for  the  existing  prosaic 
figure,    is    matter    for    congratulation. 
That  a  stamp  may  be  ornamental  as 
well  as  useful,  is  a  proposition  which 
most  postal  administrations  now  show 
their  acquiescence  in.     Economic  rea- 
sons are,  we  fear,  too  much  in  favor 
of  armorial  bearings  as  a  device  for 
stamps;   but   for   our   part,  while   ac- 
knowledging   the    excellence    of    the 
change  from  figures  to  arms,  we  must 
confess  we  should  prefer  to  see  the 
features   of    foreign   sovereigns   on   a 
larger    number    of    stamps    than    at 
present  bear  them.     The  objection  to 
the  employment  of  our  own  Queen's 
effigy    on    her    colonial    stamps,    that 
the  frequent  repetition  is  monotonous 
and  tiresome,  would  not  hold  good  in 
respect  to  continental  monarchs,  over 
whose  dominions  the  sun  sets  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  nature. 
The  original  or  matrix   die  was   en- 
graved on  steel  by  Peter  Reiss,  a  medal 
coiner  employed  at  the  Royal  Mint.  The 
secondary  dies,  on  which  the  numerals 
of  value  were  engraved,  and  the  brass 
blocks  which  formed  the  printing  plates 
were  also  struck  at  the  Mint. 

The  plates  were  constructed  by  a  pro- 
cess similar  to  that  employed  for  the 
numeral  series.  Each  plate  consisted 
of  sixty  brass  cliches  arranged  in  two 
panes  of  thirty  each  (6  rows  of  5) 
placed  side  by  side.  A  space  about  the 
width  of  a  stamp  separated  the  panes. 
The  design  was  embossed  in  slight  re- 
lief on  a  colored  ground  the  series  be- 
ing a  particularly  attractive  one.  The 
paper  was  similar  to  that  used  for  the 
preceding  issues,  having  silk  threads  em- 
bedded in  its  substance  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  one  thread  was  apportioned 
to  each  vertical  row  of  stamps.  It  is 
probable  that  the  use  of  this  paper  pre- 
vented the  adoption  of  perforation 
which,  at  that  period,  was  in  general 
use. 

There  is  a  well-known  minor  variety 
of  the  Ikr  in  which  the  numeral  in  the 
upper  right  hand  corner  has  a  distinct 
colored  stroke  across  the  centre. 

On  January  1st  1868,  a  new  postal 
arrangement  was  made  with  the  North 
German  Confederation,  Wurtemburg, 
and  Baden  involving  a  postal  rate  of 
7kr.  Later  this  rate  was  extended  to 
include  the  agreements  with  Denmark 
and  Belgium  and  the  natural  outcome 
was  the  issue  of  a  7  kreuzer  stamp. 
The  issue  of  this  new  value  was  an- 
nounced in  a  Government  decree  dated 
August  30th,  1868,  and  at  the  same  time 
it  was  decreed  that  the  color  of  the 
6kr  would  be  changed  to  brown  so  as 


13 


to  avoid  confusion  with  the  7kr.  These 
new  varieties  were  placed  on  sale  on 
October  1st  and  a  month  later  the  9kr 
was  withdrawn  from  use  and  the  6kr 
in  the  old  color  of  blue  was  demonetised. 
The  new  7kr  value  was  similar  in  de- 
sign, impression,  and  paper  to  the  other 
denominations  of  the  series. 

All  values  of  this  issue  are  said  to 
exist  on  laid  paper  and  as  such  are  re- 
corded in  Scott's  catalogue.  M.  Moens, 
in  a  note  in  his  catalogue  observed 
that  "the  paper  is  found  with  fine  lines 
resembling  laid  paper."  It  seems  quite 
certain  that  J:he  variety  is  not  a  true 
laid  paper  but  is  merely  due  to  some 
slight  imperfection  in  manufacture. 
The  "laid"  and  "wove"  varieties  may 
be  found  on  the  same  sheet  and  the 
former  is  generally  considered  of  such 
minor  importance  as  to  be  hardly 
worthy  the  attention  of  even  an  ex- 
treme specialist.  It  would,  therefore, 
appear  that  the  "laid"  paper  varieties 
are  hardly  worthy  of  catalogue  rank. 

Most  of  the  stamps  of  this  issue  pro- 
vide considerable  variation  in  shade. 


ference  List. 

1867-68.     Embossed.     Silk     thread     in     paper. 
Imperf. 

15.  Ikr  green,  Scott's  No.  15  or  15a. 

16.  3kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  16. 

17.  6kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  17. 

18.  6kr  bistre,  Scott's  No.  21. 

19.  7kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  22. 

20.  9kr  bistre,  Scott's  No.  18. 

21.  12kr  mauve,  Scott's  No.  19. 

22.  18kr  red,  Scott's  No.  20. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

Although,  as  we  have  previously  ob- 
served, Bavaria  was  the  first  of  the  Ger- 
man States  to  issue  postage  stamps  it 
was  the  last  to  make  use  of  any  provi- 
sion for  their  easy  separation.  This  was 
apparently  due  to  the  fact  that  the  silk- 
thread  paper  was  considered  such  an  ex- 
cellent safeguard  against  counterfeiting 
that  the  authorities  were  loth  to  give 
it  up.  At  last,  however,  the  obvious 
convenience  of  perforation  made  its 
adoption  indispensable  and  the  silk- 
thread  paper  was  replaced  by  a  new 
watermarked  paper.  A  Government  No- 
tice dated  June  12th,  1870,  stated  that 
a  new  issue  of  postage  stamps  of  the 
values  of  1,  3,  6,  7,  12,  and  18  kreuzer 


would  be  made  and  issued  as  soon  as 
existing  stocks  of  the  old  series  were 
exhausted.  It  was  stated  that  the  paper 
would  no  longer  contain  the  red  silk 
threads  and  that  the  stamps  would  have 
the  edges  indented,  but  no  mention  was 
made  of  the  watermark.  The  stamps 
were  ready  for  issue  on  July  1st,  and 
were  placed  on  sale  just  as  quickly  as 
the  corresponding  values  of  the  im- 
perforate  series  were  sold  out.  The 
same  plates  were  used,  and  the  same 
colors  were  retained,  the  differences  be- 
ing confined  to  the  watermark  and  per- 
foration. The  watermark  consisted  of 
a  number  of  crossed  lines  forming  a  dia- 
mond pattern  generally  known  as 
"lozenges."  There  are  two  varieties  of 
this  watermark  in  one  of  which  the 
diamonds  or  lozenges  are  17  mm.  wide, 
while  in  the  other  they  are  narrower 
and  only  measure  14  mm.  in  width. 
Gibbons  catalogues  both  varieties  in 
full  applying  much  higher  prices  to  the 
variety  with  narrower  lozenges.  Both, 
however,  occurred  on  the  same  sheet 
so  that  the  philatelic  importance  of  the 
differences  is  not  particularly  great.  The 
paper  was  intended  to  be  horizontally 
laid  but  on  the  majority  of  specimens 
it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  find  any 
trace  of  the  laid  lines,  though  they  are 
generally  quite  plain  on  the  margins  of 
the  sheets.  This  appears  to  be  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  intersecting  lines  form- 
ing the  lattice  watermark  were  so  much 
heavier  than  the  "laid"  lines  on  the 
dandy  roll  that  they  received  most  of 
the  pressure  and,  consequently,  while 
they  were  deeply  indented  into  the  paper 
the  horizontal  lines  of  wire  to  which 
they  were  stitched  made  no  impression 
at  all.  The  paper  is,  therefore,  best  de- 
scribed as  wove. 

As  the  same""  plates  were  used  as  for 
the  1867-68  series  it  follows  that  the 
stamps  were  printed  in  sheets  of  sixty 
divided  into  two  panes  of  thirty  each. 

The  perforating  machine  was  so  con- 
structed that  an  entire  pane  of  thirty 
stamps  was  perforated  at  one  opera- 
tion, the  gauge  being  11^2. 

In  1872  certain  revisions  were  made 
in  the  postal  tariff  a  Post-office  Notice 
dated  November  30th,  stating  that  for 
the  future  the  rate  on  single  letters  to 
France,  Great  Britain,  Norway,  Portu- 
gal, Spain,  Constantinople,  and  the 
United  States  via  Bremen  or  Hamburg, 
would  be  9  kreuzer ;  and  that  the  rate 
to  Italy,  Russia,  Sweden,  Turkey,  Alex- 
andria, and  the  United  States  via 
Cologne,  would  be  10  kreuzer.  As  these 
rates  could  not  be  made  up  by  existing 
values  except  by  the  use  of  two  stamps 
it  was  announced  that  labels  of  these 
denominations  would  be  issued.  At  the 
same  time  it  was  stated  that  owing  to 


14 


the  limited  use  for  the  12  kreuzer  stamp 
no  more  of  this  value  would  be  printed. 
On  December  31st  the  provisions  of  this 
Notice  came  into  effect  the  12kr  being 
withdrawn  and  the  new  9  and  10  kreuzer 
stamps  being  placed  on  sale.  Of  these 
the  9kr  was  printed  in  pale  brown  and 
the  lOkr  in  yellow.  The  plates  were  of 
similar  size  to  those  of  the  other  de- 
nominations and  the  paper  and  perfora- 
tion were  also  similar. 

Late  in  1876  Bavaria,  in  common  with 
many  of  the  other  German  States,  de- 
cided to  make  a  clean  sweep  of  its  ob- 
solete postage  stamps,  envelopes,  etc. 
According  to  an  article  in  the  Monthly 
Journal  the  lot  was  placed  on  sale  in 
October,  1876,  and  in  addition  to  a  list 
of  the  quantities  of  the  different  varie- 
ties a  lengthy  note  was  added  of  which 
the  following  is  a  summary : 

All  these  articles,  which  were  with- 
drawn from  use  on  January  1st,  1876, 
have  been  stamped  with  an  oblitera- 
tion dated  June  30th  of  that  year;  no 
reprints  will  be  made;  offers  may  be 
submitted  for  the  whole  stock,  for  the 
whole  of  one  or  more  kinds,  or  for 
fixed  quantities  of  different  kinds 
separately.  Offers  must  be  sent  in 
by  January  1st,  1867,  after  which  the 
Government  will  announce  its  deci- 
sion. Preference  will  be  given  to  the 
largest  offers. 

Xo  account  will  be  taken  of  tenders 
submitted  by  firms  or  individuals  who 
have  no  domicile  in  Germany  or  Aus- 
tria-Hungary, unless  they  are  vouched 
for  by  some  firm  domiciled  in  Bavaria, 
and  of  sufficiently  high  standing. 
The  entire  lot  was  purchased  by  Mr. 
G.    Zedmeyer,    of    Nuremberg,    though 
the    price    paid    was    not    made    public. 
The  lot  included  the  following  remain- 
ders of  the  issue  we  are  now  discuss- 


ing:— 

6kr  bistre, 
9kr  pale  brown, 
12kr  mauve, 


171,600 

174,000 

3,000 


2.-,.  Gkr  bistre,  Scott's  No.  25. 

2»>.  7kr  blue,   Scott's   No.   26. 

27.  9kr  pale  brown,   Scott's   No.  27. 

28.  lOkr  yellow,   Scott's   No.  28. 

29.  12kr  mauve,  Scott's  No.  29. 
:;o.  18kr  red,   Scott's   No.   30. 


THE  SIXTH  ISSUE. 

On  August  5th,  1874,  a  new  stamp  of 
1  mark  was  issued,  the  value  being  ex- 
pressed in  Imperial  currency.  This  de- 
nomination was  specially  intended  for 
the  prepayment  of  the  rate  on  large 
parcels  and  packages  within  the  Union 
of  the  German  States.  The  die  was  en- 
graved on  steel  by  Herr  P.  Reiss,  medal 
coiner  to  the  mint,  and  the  stamps  were 
printed  at  the  Mint  of  Munich.  The 
design  shows  the  Royal  Arms,  with  sup- 
porters, surmounted  by  a  crown  and 
resting  on  a  scroll  pattern  base.  Above 
the  crown  is  "BAYERN"  in  a  curve, 
and  under  the  base  "MARK"  in  large 
capitals,  the  whole  being  embossed  on  a 
ground  of  solid  color.  In  each  of  the 
four  corners  the  value  is  expressed 
by  a  large  "1"  embossed  in  white  on  a 
disc  of  horizontal  lines. 

The  plate  was  constructed  in  the 
same  way  as  those  for  the  other  values 
but  consisted  of  fifty  stamps  arranged  in 
five  horizontal  rows  of  ten.  The  same 
watermarked  paper  was  used  but  as 
the  stamps  were  of  extra  large  size 
(measuring  25  mm.  by  21  mm.)  the  im- 
pression fell  very  irregularly  over  the 
watermark,  the  paper,  of  course,  being 
originally  intended  for  stamps  of  much 
smaller  size. 

The  stamp  was  at  first  issued  imper- 
forate  as  the  only  perforating  machine 
available  was  not  adapted  for  use  on 
such  large  stamps.  A  new  machine  was 
ordered  capable  of  perforating  an  entire 
sheet  of  fifty  stamps  at  a  time  and  on 
April  1st,  1875,  the  perforated  stamps 
made  their  appearance.  The  gauge  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  lower  values,  viz. 


Reference  List. 

1870-72.      Embossed.      Wmk.      crossed      lines.        1874-75. 

Perf.    Iiy2. 

23.       Ikr  green,   Scott's   No.   23. 
LM.        3kr  rose,   Scott's   No.   24. 


Reference  List. 

Embossed.      Wmk.      crossed 

31.  1  mark  mauve,  Imperf.,  Scott's  No.  31. 

32.  1  mark  mauve,   Perf.   11^,   Scott's   No. 

::± 


15 


THE  SEVENTH  ISSUE. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  1875 
a  change  was  made  in  the  watermark 
of  the  paper,  the  crossed  lines  being 
superseded  by  a  uniform  pattern  of  un- 
dulating lines  (placed  horizontally)  set 
8^2  mm.  apart.  The  paper  was  hori- 
zontally laid  but  as  the  watermark  made 
such  a  heavy  impression  the  laid  lines 
of  the  paper  are  frequently  impossible 
to  detect.  The  same  paper  was  used 
for  the  envelopes  and  wrappers  which 
up  to  that  time  had  been  printed  on 
plain  paper.  The  same  plates  were  used 
as  for  printing  issue  five  and  the  colors 
and  perforation  also  correspond  to  that 
series.  The  1,  3,  7,  10,  and  18  kreuzer 
values  were  printed  on  this  paper  and 
were  placed  on  sale  some  time  in  No- 
vember, 1875.  They  had  but  a  short 
life,  for  on  January  1st,  1876,  they  were 
withdrawn  and  replaced  by  a  new  series 
with  values  in  Imperial  currency. 

Among  the   remainders   sold   in   1876 

the    following   quantities   of  the    stamps 

of  the  issue  under  notice  were  included: 

Ikr  green,  942,000 

3kr  rose,  1,470,000 

7kr  blue,  321,000 

lOkr  yellow,  120,000 

18kr  red,  99,000 


1875. 

33. 

34. 
35. 
36. 


Reference  List. 

Wmk.      undulating      horizontal 
Perf.  \\yz. 

Ikr  green,   Scott's   No.  33. 

3kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  34. 

7kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  35. 
lOkr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  3G. 


lines. 


37.     18kr  red,  Scott's  No.  37. 


THE  EIGHTH  ISSUE. 

Until  the  close  of  the  year  1875  all 
the  stamps  issued  in  Bavaria,  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  1  mark  value 
issued  in  1874,  had  the  values  expressed 
in  South  German  currency  but,  with  the 
idea  of  creating  greater  uniformity,  the 
Imperial  currency  of  marks  and  pfennige 
was  introduced  on  January  1st,  1876. 
This,  of  course,  necessitated  the  issue  of 
new  stamps  and  particulars  of  the  new 
series  were  announced  in  a  Post-office 
Notice  dated  December  9th,  1875.  We 
take  the  following  summary  of  its  con- 
tents from  the  Philatelic  Record: — 


"The  stamps  will  be  issued: — 
Value  of  3  pfennige  in  light  green. 
5  dark  green. 

10  '      carmine    red. 

20  blue. 

25  red-brown. 

50  '      vermilion  red. 

1  mark  in  violet. 

2  marks  in  orange  yellow. 

The  new  stamps,  like  that  of  1  mark, 
will  be  embossed  with  the  Royal  Arms 
in  oval  shields,  with  the  supporters 
and  crown,  and  the  name  BAYERN 
above  the  crown  in  white  on  a  colored 
ground.  The  value  of  the  stamps  will 
be  expressed  in  figures  in  relief  in  the 
four  angles,  and  the  denomination 
PFENNIG  or  MARK  in  relief  under 
the  Arm? 

The  postage  stamps  with  value  in 
pfennig  are  of  the  same  size  as  those 
of  the  former  issue  in  kreuzer,  and 
will  be  delivered  to  the  Post-offices  in 
sheets  of  60.  Those  of  2  marks  are 
of  the  same  size  as  those  of  1  mark, 
and  will  be  delivered  in  sheets  of  50." 

The  original  dies  for  the  new  series 
were  engraved  on  steel  by  Herr  P. 
Reiss  at  the  Mint  of  Munich  and  the  de- 
sign of  the  lower  values,  as  will  be  un- 
derstood from  the  above  description,  is 
very  similar  to  that  of  the  1  mark  of 
1874  but  on  a  smaller  scale.  The  die 
for  the  2  marks  was  a  subsidiary  one 
made  by  taking  an  impression  from  the 
1  mark  and  altering  the  corner  numerals. 
The  plates  were  of  similar  size  to  those 
of  the  preceding  issue  and  they  were 
constructed  in  a  similar  manner. 

The  paper  was  watermarked  with  the 
undulating  lines  placed  %y2  mm.  apart 
as  in  the  case  of  the  stamps  of  1875  and, 
while  it  was  apparently  intended  to  be 
laid,  the  "laid"  lines  are  very  faint  or 
fail  to  show  at  all.  This,  as  already  ex- 
plained, was  due  to  the  greater  pressure 
exerted  on  the  pulp  by  the  watermarked 
lines  sewn  on  the  dandy-roll.  There  was 
such  a  large  supply  of  the  1  mark  stamps 
on  hand  that  it  was  not  until  1879  it  was 
necessary  to  print  this  value  on  the  paper 
watermarked  with  wavy  lines. 

In  consequence  of  the  similarity  of 
color  of  the  3pf  and  5pf  it  was  decided 
to  change  the  latter  and  on  December 
4th,  1878,  a  Post-office  Notice  was  pub- 
lished announcing  the  issue  of  the  5 
pfennige  stamp  in  violet  and  at  the  same 
time  it  was  stated  that  the  color  of  the  50 
pfennige  would  be  changed  from  ver- 
milion to  dark  brown.  The  new  stamps 
were  ready  on  January  1st  following  and 
they  were  sold  as  the  stocks  of  the  old 
colors  were  used  up. 

The  same  perforating  machines — one 
for  the  pfennig  and  one  for  the  mark 


16 


values — were     used     as     before,     both 
gauging  lll/2. 

The  1  mark  stamp  of  this  series  is  an 
extremely  rare  variety  unused,  though 
in  used  condition  it  is  comparatively 
common. 


51.  20pf  blue,  Scott's  No.  51. 

52.  25pf  bistre-brown,  Scott's  No.  52. 

53.  50pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  53. 

54.  1  mark  mauve,  Scott's  No.  54. 
.">.  2  mark  orange,  Scott's  No.  55. 


Reference  List. 

1875-79.     Wmk.     undulating    horizontal     lines. 
Perf.  11^. 

38.  3pf  green,  Scott's  No.  38. 

39.  5pf  dark  green,   Seott's  No.  39. 
4i>.       5pf  mauve,   Scott's   No.  46. 

41.  lOpf  rose,  Scott's  No.  40. 

42.  20pf  blue,   Scott's   No.  41. 

4::.  25pf  yellow  brown,  Scott's  No.  42. 

44.  fiOpf  vermilion,  Scott's  No.  43. 

4."..  ;"JOpf  brown,  Scott's  No.  47. 

46.  1  mark  mauve,  Scott's  No.  44. 

47.  2  mark  orange,  Scott's  No.  45. 


THE  NINTH  ISSUE. 

Some  time  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  year  1881,  the  contract  for  supply- 
ing the  paper  for  postage  stamps,  which 
had  up  to  then  been  held  by  the  Pasing 
Mill,  was  awarded  to  the  Munich- 
Dachau  Paper  Manufacturing  Company 
— a  concern  equipped  with  more  modern 
machinery  and  able  to  turn  out  a  better 
grade  of  paper.  At  the  time  of  this 
change  it  was  also  decided  to  alter  the 
style  of  watermark.  A  new  dandy-roll 
was  ordered  from  England  and  this 
made  a  watermark  of  zig-zag  lines  run- 
ning in  a  vertical  direction  down  the 
stamps,  the  lines  being  spaced  about  7l/2 
mm.  apart.  This  paper  was  white  wove 
and  the  improved  appearance  of  the 
stamps  showed  it  was  of  better  quality 
than  that  previously  used.  No  altera- 
tion was  made  in  the  colors  of  the  va- 
rious denominations  and  the  perfora- 
tion remained  the  same  as  before.  The 
first  stamps  on  the  new  paper  were 
ready  for  issue  about  November,  1881, 
and  they  were  placed  on  sale  as  the 
stocks  of  the  old  varieties  became  ex- 
hausted. It  is  probable  that  all  except 
the  2  marks  were  in  use  before  the  end 
of  the  vear.  The  2  marks  did  not  ap- 
pear until  1891. 

Reference  List. 

1881-91.     Wmk.     vertical    zig-zag    lines     close 
together.     Perf.  11  y2. 

48.  3pf  green,   Scott's   No.  48.    ' 

49.  5pf  mauve,  Scott's  No.  40. 

50.  lOpf  carmine,   Scott's   No.  50. 


THE  TENTH  ISSUE, 

Although  the  Imperial  currency  was 
issued  in  1876  the  pfennige  values  con- 
tinued to  be  printed  in  the  small  sheets 
of  60  and  these  did  not  altogether  fit 
in  with  a  decimal  currency.  It  was  de- 
cided, therefore,  to  alter  the  size  of  the 
sheets  and  in  January  1888  some  of  the 
values  made  their  appearance  in  sheets 
of  100  and  before  long  all  the  pfennige 
stamps  had  appeared  thus.  The  stamps 
were  divided  into  two  panes  of  fifty 
(five  rows  of  ten)  placed  one  above  the 
other.  An  interval  about  the  height  of 
a  stamp  was  left  between  the  panes  and 
across  this  space  two  thick  horizontal 
lines  were  printed.  The  plates  being  of 
a  new  size  the  paper  had  to  be  cut  ac- 
cordingly and,  to  avoid  unnecessary 
waste,  it  was  found  best  to  cut  the 
paper  so  that  on  the  printed  stamps  the 
watermarked  wavy  lines  run  in  a  hori- 
zontal instead  of  perpendicular  direc- 
tion. Naturally  this  change  in  the  size 
of  the  sheets  made  the  perforating  ma- 
chine, which  had  been  constructed  to 
perforate  a  pane  of  thirty  stamps  at  a 
time,  of  no  use  and  a  new  one  had  to  be 
ordered.  This  one  was  also  on  the  har- 
row principle  and  perforated  an  entire 
pane  of  fifty  stamps  at  one  operation 
but  the  punches  were  smaller  and  placed 
closer  together  so  that  the  gauge  is 
14^  in  place  of  the  11^  found  in  con- 
nection with  previous  issues.  No  alter- 
ation in  the  size  of  the  sheets  of  the 
mark  values  was  made  so  that  the  water- 
mark on  these  is  vertical. 

An  official  notice  issued  by  the  Post 
Office  authorities  under  date  December 
23rd,  1889,  foreshadowed  several  changes 
of  color.  It  was  stated  that  the  3pf  would 
be  issued  in  brown,  the  5pf  in  green,  the 
25pf  in  orange  and  the  50pf  in  red- 
brown.  The  result  of  these  changes 
was  to  make  a  more  marked  distinc- 
tion between  the  colors  chosen  for  the 
various  denominations  and  it  also  gave 
the  5pf  its  proper  Postal  Union  tint. 
These  new  varieties  were  placed  on  sale 


17 


as  the  stocks  of  the  old  ones  were  used 
up.  Their  actual  date  of  issue  is  in- 
definite but  all  four  were  probably  on 
sale  by  March,  1890. 

Early  in  1900,  the  set  was  enriched  by 
the  addition  of  four  new  values — 2pf, 
30pf,  4Qpf,  and  80pf.  They  were  prob- 
ably placed  on  sale  on  January  1st.  In 
design,  watermark,  perforation,  and 
size  of  sheets  they  correspond  exactly 
to  the  values  previously  described. 

About  this  period  it  was  noticed  that 
paper  of  a  whiter  appearance  was  be- 
ing used  but  these  are  listed  as  separ- 
ate varieties  in  Gibbons'  catalogue,  the 
distinction  is  one  of  comparatively  little 
importance.  Most  of  the  values  of  this 
series  provide  a  pleasing  array  of  shades. 

Reference  List. 

1888-1900.     Wmk.  horizontal  zig-zag  lines  close 

together.     Perf.   U%. 
2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  66. 
3pf  green,  Scott's  No.  56. 
3pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  62. 
5pf  mauve,  Scott's  No.  57. 
5pf  green,  Scott's  No.  63. 
lOpf  carmine,  Scott's  No.  58. 
20pf  blue,   Scott's   No.   59. 
25pf  bistre-brown,   Scott's   No.   60. 
25pf  orange,   Scott's   No.   64. 
30pf  olive  green,  Scott's  No.  67. 
40pf  yellow,  Scott's  No.  68. 
50pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  61. 
50pf  marone,  Scott's  No.  65. 
80pf  mauve,  Scott's  No.  69. 


Reference  List. 

1903.     Wmk.    vertical    zig-zag    lines    close    to- 
gether.    Perf.  Iiy2. 
72.     5pf  green,  Scott's  No.  72. 


56. 
57. 
58. 
59. 
60. 
61. 
62. 
63. 
64. 
65. 
66. 
67. 
68. 


THE  ELEVENTH  ISSUE. 

The  necessity  for  stamps  of  a  higher 
facial  value  than  2  marks  resulted  in 
the  issue  of  3  and  5  mark  stamps  on 
April  1st,  1900.  These  are  exactly  simi- 
lar in  design  to  the  1  and  2  mark  values 
and  it  is  evident  that  the  dies  were 
secondary  ones,  struck  from  the  matrix 
of  the  1  mark,  with  the  appropriate  num- 
erals inserted  in  the  angles.  These 
stamps  were  also  printed  in  sheets  of 
fifty  and  the  same  perforating  machine 
gauging  11  y2  was  used.  The  watermark, 
also,  is  perpendicular  as  in  the  case  of 
the  earlier  mark  stamps. 

Reference  List. 

1900.     Wmk.    vertical    zig-zag    lines    close    to- 
gether.    Perf   11^. 

70.  3  marks,  olive-brown,  Scott's  No.  70. 

71.  5  marks  pale  green,  Scott's  No.  71. 


THE  TWELFTH   ISSUE. 

Early  in  March,  1903,  the  5  pfennige 
stamp  appeared  with  the  watermark 
vertical  instead  of  horizontal.  This  is 
the  only  one  of  the  small  size  stamps 
with  the  perforation  gauging  14^  to  ap- 
pear with  the  watermark  in  this  position. 


THE  THIRTEENTH   ISSUE. 

In  December,  1910,  the  four  mark 
values  appeared  with  the  watermarked 
zig-zag  lines  horizontal  instead  of  verti- 
cal. For  what  reason  the  change  was 
made — meaning,  of  course,  that  the  paper 
was  cut  in  a  different  way, — is  not 
known  but  there  seems  to  have  been 
only  one  printing  for  in  the  following 
year  the  portrait  stamps  made  their  ap- 
pearance. According  to  the  Illustriertes 
Priefmarken  Journal  the  quantities 
printed  were  as  follows : — 1  mark,  400,- 
000 ;  2  marks,  300,000 ;  3  marks,  200,000 ; 
and  5  marks,  100,000. 

Reference  List. 

1910.     Wmk.  horizontal  zig-zag  lines,  close  to- 
gether.    Perf.   11  */*. 

73.  1  mark,  mauve,  Scott's   No.   73. 

74.  2  marks,  orange,  Scott's  No.  74. 

75.  3  marks,  olive-brown,  Scott's  No.  75. 

76.  5  marks,  pale  green,  Scott's  No.  76. 


THE  FOURTEENTH  ISSUE. 

On  March  12th,  1911,  Prince  Leopold 
Regent  of  the  kingdom  of  Bavaria,  cele- 
brated his  ninetieth  birthday,  and  the 
event  was  marked  by  the  issue  of  a  new 
series  of  stamps  bearing  his  portrait. 
The  change  was  something  in  the  nature 
of  a  revolution  considering  the  Arms 
type  had  been  in  use  for  a  period  of  no 
less  than  forty-four  years.  The  Prince 
was  born  at  Wurzburg  on  March  12th, 
1821,  and  his  life  and  career  were  bound 
up  with  the  historic  episodes  of  modern 
Europe.  Professionally  Prince  Leopold 
was  a  soldier  but  when  his  nephew, 
King  Otto,  succeeded  to  the  throne  in 
1886  he  was  appointed  Regent  owing  to 
the  mental  deficiency  of  the  ruler. 
Prince  Leopold  was  regarded  with  the 
greatest  affection  by  the  people  and  his 
birthday  was  observed  throughout  Ba- 
varia with  the  heartiest  enthusiasm. 
The  special  stamps  issued  to  mark  the 
event  show  two  designs.  That  for  the 
pfennig  denominations  shows  a  profile 
bareheaded  portrait,  looking  to  left,  on 
a  solid  rectangular  background.  In  the 
upper  left  corner  of  this  rectangle 
figures  of  value  are  shown  and  in  the 
top  right  angle  are  the  letters  "Pf". 
Above,  on  a  narrow  tablet  of  color,  is 
the  date  "12  MARZ  1911",  and  at  the 
base  is  the  name  "BAYERN"  in 
colored  capitals.  The  stamps  vary  in 
size,  the  lower  values  being  smaller  than 
those  of  a  higher  facial  value.  The 


18 


mark  stamps  are  of  extra  large  size  and 
show  a  portrait  of  the  aged  Regent  look- 
ing to  right.  In  this  instance  he  is 
shown  wearing  a  hat.  On  each  side  of 
the  portrait  are  ornate  columns,  resting 
on  corner  rectangles  of  solid  color,  that 
on  the  left  bearing  the  numeral  of  value, 
and  the  one  on  the  right  a  letter  "M". 
In  the  centre,  at  the  top,  is  the  date 
"r.)ll".  The  portraits  are  strongly 
drawn  and  are  the  work  of  the  cele- 
brated German  artist,  Prof.  Fritz  von 
Kaulbachs.  The  stamps  are  printed  by 
a  process  of  photo-lithography.  They 
were  on  sale  some  few  weeks  before  the 
actual  birthday  celebration  and  after  the 
31st  March  all  previous  issues  were 
demonetised. 

The  stamps  were  printed  on  the  paper 
watermarked  with  close  zig-zag  lines 
which  has  been  in  use  since  1881.  On 
the  values  from  3pf  to  25pf  inclusive, 
the  lines  are  horizontal  while  on  all 
others  they  are  vertical.  In  what  size 
sheets  these  stamps  were  printed  we  do 
not  know  (possibly  100  for  the  pfennig 
and  50  for  the  mark  values)  but  it  seems 
probable  that  a  new  perforating  machine 
was  brought  into  use.  As  we  have  al- 
ready shown  the  14l/2  and  11^  machines 
used  from  1888  and  1881  respectively 
were  of  the  harrow  kind  and  could, 
therefore,  only  be  used  for  stamps  and 
sheets  of  the  size  for  which  they  were 
constructed.  The  values  from  3  to  25pf 
are  of  the  same  size  as  the  lower  values 
of  the  preceding  issue  and  it  is  evident 
the  14l/2  harrow  machine  was  used  for 
these;  the  30pf  to  80pf  stamps  are  of 
the  same  size  as  the  mark  stamps  of  the 
Arms  design  and  doubtless  the  old  11^2 
harrow  machine  was  utilised  for  these ; 
but  the  mark  stamps  were  too  large  for 
either  of  the  existing  perforating  ma- 
chines and  a  new  one,  possibly  a  single 
line  machine  was  used.  We  are  not 
quite  positive  on  the  point  as  we  have 
only  single  stamps  to  refer  to  but  a 
single-line  machine  was  certainly  used 
for  the  next  issue  in  which  the  stamps 
are  of  the  same  large  size. 

A  60pf  value  in  the  same  design  as 
the  others  was  added  to  the  series  in 
October,  1911,  Bavaria,  in  accordance 
with  its  usual  policy  following  Ger- 
many's lead  in  the  issue  of  new  values. 
The  5pf  and^  lOpf  values  are  known  in 
tete-beche  pairs  these  being  from  sheets 
printed  for  binding  in  book  form.  The 
same  values  may  also  be  found  with  ad- 
vertisements attached,  these  also  being 
from  sheets  intended  for  binding  into 
stamp  booklets.  Most  of  the  values 
exist  in  several  pronounced  shades. 

Prince  Leopold  died  in  the  closing 
weeks  of  1912  and  was  succeeded  as  Re- 
gent by  his  son,  Prince  Ludwig.  So  far 


this  change  has  had  no  effect  on  Ba- 
varia's postal  issues  though  it  is 
rumoured  that  a  new  series  is  in  prepa- 
ration. 


1911. 


78. 
79. 
80. 
81. 

Wmk. 
82. 
83. 
84. 
85. 
86. 
87. 
88. 
89. 
90. 
91. 
92. 


Reference  List. 

Wmk.     horizontal    zig-zag    lines. 


Perf. 


3pf  brown  on  drab,  Scott's  No.  77. 
5pf  green  on  green,  Scott's  No.  78. 
lOpf  carmine  on  buff,  Scott's  No.  79. 
20pf  blue  on  blue,  Scott's  No.  80. 
25pf  chocolate  on  buff,   Scott's   No.   81. 
vertical  zig-zag  lines.     Perf.   11  l/^. 
30pf  orange  on  buff,  Scott's  No.  82. 
40pf  olive   on  buff,   Scott's   No.   83. 
50pf  marone  on  drab,  Scott's  No.  84. 
GOpf  deep  green  on  buff. 
80pf  violet  on  drab,  Scott's  No.  85. 
1m  brown  on  drab,  Scott's  No.  86. 
2m  green  on  green,  Scott's  No.  87. 
3m  crimson  on  buff,   Scott's  No.  88. 
5m  deep  blue  on  buff,  Scott's  No.  89. 
10m  orange   on   yellow,   Scott's   No.   90. 
20m  chocolate  on  yellow,  Scott's  No.  91. 


THE  FIFTEENTH  ISSUE. 

In  June,  1911,  two  stamps  were  issued 
for  use  in  the  kingdom  of  Bavaria  com- 
memorative of  the  twenty-fifth  anni- 
versary of  the  Regency  of  Prince  Leo- 
pold. The  portrait  is  somewhat  simi- 
lar to  that  of  the  pfennig  values  of  the 
birthday  set  this  being  enclosed  by  a 
large  wreath  held  on  each  side  by  cupids. 
The  dates  "1886-1911"  are  shown  on  the 
wreath  and  in  the  lower  angles  are  the 
figures  "5"  or  "10"  to  denote  the  value. 
The  name  "BAYERN"  is  shown  on  a 
straight  tablet  between  the  figures.  Each 
value  is  printed  in  three  colors  and  they 
are  somewhat  extraordinary  productions. 
The  background  is  black,  the  ribbons 
binding  the  wreath  are  yellow,  and  the 
rest  of  the  design  is  green  for  the  opf 
and  red  for  the  lOpf.  They  have  a 
crude  cheap-looking  appearance  that  is 


19 


all  the  more  marked  on  comparison 
with  the  delicate  workmanship  charac- 
terising the  contemporary  birthday 
series. 

The  stamps  are  said  to  have  been  in 
use  only  a  limited  time.  They  were 
printed  on  unwatermarked  paper  and 
perf.  lIl/2.  These  two  labels  conclude 
Bavaria's  philatelic  history  to  date. 


Reference  List. 

June,  1911,   No.  wmk.     Perf 

93.  5pf  green,     yellow     and     black,     Scott's 

No.    92. 

94.  lOpf  carmine,  yellow  and  black,  Scott's 

No.  93. 


THE  POSTAGE  DUE   STAMPS. 

The  first  postage  due  stamps  for 
Bavaria  were  set  up  from  ordinary 
printer's  type;  the  next  issue  was 
printed  from  plates  made  by  the  stereo- 
type process  from  "dies"  set  from  type; 
and  since  1876  stamps  of  the  Arms  type, 
printed  in  grey  or  greenish-grey,  have 
been  overprinted  for  this  purpose.  All 
are  distinguished  by  the  peculiar  in- 
scription "Vom  Empfanger  Zahlbar", 
meaning  "To  be  paid  by  the  recipient", 
which  is  quite  different  from  that  found 
on  the  postage  due  stamps  of  any  other 
country.  The  first  "set"  consisted  of 
but  one  value — 3  kreuzer — and  the  issue 
of  this  was  announced  by  means  of  an 
Official  Notice  dated  September  22nd, 
1862.  This  decree  is  of  considerable 
interest,  as  it  explains  in  detail  the 
method  of  using  the  stamps,  so  we  ap- 
pend a  translation  supplied  to  Gibbons 
Stamp  Weekly  by  Dr.  Erich  Stenger: 
Re  the  introduction  of  Postage  Due 
stamps  for  Unf  ranked  Local  Cor- 
respondence. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  His  MAJESTY 
THE  KING  OF  BAVARIA! 

On  the  1st  October  of  the  current 
year  the  present  system  of  marking 
by  hand  the  amount  of  duty  to  be 
paid  by  the  addressee  on  unfranked 
local  correspondence  will  cease,  and 
instead  special  Tax  tokens  (Postage 
Due  stamps)  will  come  into  use, 
which  must  be  affixed  to  the  letter  and 
which  alone  give  a  right  to  demand  a 
tax  on  delivery. 


1.  All  letters  to  be  considered  as 
local  correspondence  which  either: — 

(a)  are  to  be  delivered  in  the  town 
of  the  distributing  office  itself,  or  in 
the    Rural    post    district    belonging 
thereto,  or 

(b)  are    dispatched    from   a    place 
in  the  Rural  post  district  to  the  post 
town  itself,  or  to  another  place  in 
the  said  Rural  post  district. 

2.  The  stamps  to  be  used  for  such 
unfranked  correspondence,  instead  of 
marking  the  amount  in  writing,  bear 
the  value  3kr  (the  single  duty  for  de- 
livery in  the  Local  or  Rural  post  dis- 
trict),   printed    in    black,    on    white 
paper,  with  a  red  silk  thread  running 
through  it  sideways. 

For  correspondence  which  exceeds 
the  weight  payable  by  a  single  Tax 
Stamp,  as  many  Postage  Due  stamps 
must  be  used  to  make  up  the  amount 
which  pays  for  that  weight  according 
to  the  tariff. 

3.  In  the  case  of  letters  posted  in 
the  post  town  the  Postage  Due  stamps 
shall  be  affixed  by  the  distributing  of- 
ficer, in  the  case  of  letters  handed  to 
the  postman  in  the  Rural  post  district 
for  delivery,  by  the  postman;   in  all 
cases  on  the  side  bearing  the  address, 
after  the  manner  of  postage   stamps. 
Omission  to  use  the  stamps  not  only 
gives   every  recipient   of  local   corre- 
spondence the  right  to  refuse  the  de- 
mand  for   payment,   but  will   also  be 
followed  by  commensurate  penal  pro- 
ceedings against  the  distributing  offi- 
cer or  postman  concerned. 

4.  The  Postage  Due  stamps  will  be 
issued   to    the    post    offices    from    the 
Royal  District  Treasury  in  sheets  of 
ninety  stamps,  and  the   same   regula- 
tions  hold   good   for   their   issue  and 
use  as  in  the  case  of  postage  stamps. 

5.  For    other    unpaid    correspond- 
ence which,  not  being  part  of  the  local 
deliveries,  has  to  be  dispatched  from 
the  distributing  office  to  another  post 
office,    the    method    of    marking    the 
amount     of     tax     by     hand     remains 
unaltered. 

MUNICH,  September  22nd,  1862. 
GENERAL   DIREKTION 
DER  K.  VERKEHRS  ANSTALTEN. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  from  the  forego- 
ing notice  that  the  stamps  were  purely 
for  local  use  and  this  system  has  re- 
mained practically  unaltered  to  the 
present  day.  The  stamps  were  printed 
in  black  on  white  paper,  and  were  is- 
sued imperforate.  The  design  is  sim- 
ple in  the  extreme.  In  the  centre  is  a 
large  numeral  "3"  and  in  the  rectangu- 
lar frame  around  this  we  find  "Bayer. 
Posttaxe"  (Bavarian  Post  Tax),  at  the 
top;  "Vom  Empfanger  Zahlbar",  at  the 


bottom;  and  "3  kreuzer"  reading  up- 
wards at  the  left,  and  downwards  at 
the  right.  All  the  inscriptions  are  in 
Gothic  lettering.  As  we  have  already 
stated  the  design  was  set  up  from  or- 
dinary printer's  type,  the  sheet  consist- 
ing of  ninety  stamps  arranged  in  two 
panes  of  forty-five  each  (five  horizontal 
rows  of  nine),  placed  one  above  the 
other.  A  space  equal  to  about  half  the 
height  of  a  stamp  divides  the  panes  and 
between  the  vertical  rows  lengths  of 
printers'  rule  are  inserted.  The  paper 
was  the  silk-thread  variety  used  for  the 
contemporary  postage  stamps  but  in 
these  labels  it  is  horizontal  instead  of 
vertical  as  in  the  postal  issues.  This  is 
due  to  the  different  arrangement  of  the 
stamps  the  vertical  rows  of  the  Postage 
Dues  occupying  about  the  same  area  as 
the  horizontal  rows  of  the  ordinary 
stamps. 

Naturally,  as  the  plate  for  this  3kr 
stamp  was  set  from  type  minor  varie- 
ties abound.  The  only  one  of  particular 
importance  occurs  on  the  fourth  stamp 
of  the  second  row  of  the  upper  pane. 
On  this  the  final  "r"  of  "Empfanger"  is 
omitted.  This,  as  the  catalogue  quota- 
tions indicate,  is  an  exceedingly  scarce 
variety.  Those  of  our  readers  who 
wish  to  study  this  issue  more  deeply 
cannot  do  better  than  refer  to  the  ex- 
cellent article  in  Gibbons  Stamp  Weekly 
(Vol.  XI,  pages  492  and  588)  by  Dr. 
Erich  Stenger. 

We  have  already  shown  that  the 
use  of  the  silk  thread  paper  was  dis- 
continued, so  far  as  the  postage  stamps 
were  concerned,  about  July,  1870,  and 
in  its  stead  paper  watermarked  with 
crossed  diagonal  lines  was  used.  At 
the  same  time  perforation  was  intro- 
duced. This  change  affected  the  Post- 
age Due  stamps  in  the  following  year 
a  Royal  Proclamation,  dated  March  30th, 
1871,  announcing  that  new  Ikr  and  3kr 
Postage  Due  stamps  would  be  issued 
and  that  they  would  be  printed  in  black 
on  watermarked  paper  and  be  per- 
forated like  the  contemporary  postage 
stamps.  Like  the  stamps  of  the  Arms 
type  they  were  printed  in  sheets  of  six- 
ty divided  into  two  panes  of  thirty  each 
(five  rows  of  six)  placed  side  by  side. 
It  is  evident  one  original  die  (probably 
set  up  from  type)  served  for  both 
values.  The  design  is  similar  to  that 
of  the  first  3kr  but  with  "Bayer"  ab- 
breviated to  "Bayr"  and  with  larger 
lettering.  The  shape  of  the  large  num- 
eral "3",  too,  is  quite  different  from  that 
of  the  type-set  variety.  The  matrix 
die,  consisting  of  frame  only,  formed 
the  foundation  for  the  two  necessary 
subsiduary  dies  in  which  the  large  nu- 


merals were  inserted.  From  these  suffi- 
cient casts  were  taken  in  type-metal  to 
compose  the  printing  plates.  The  same 
perforating  machine  was  used  as  was 
employed  to  perforate  the  postage 
stamps.  The  use  of  the  3kr  value  has 
already  been  explained.  The  Ikr  value 
was  introduced  to  denote  the  sum  to 
be  paid  by  the  recipient  of  certain  offi- 
cial letters  which  had  not  been  prepaid. 
While  most  official  correspondence  was 
carried  free  certain  official  local  cor- 
respondence was  subject  to  postage  but 
at  a  reduced  fee,  and  it  was  for  the 
collection  of  deficient  postage  on  the 
latter  that  the  Ikr  stamp  was  necessary. 

The  change  to  the  Imperial  currency 
of  pfennige  and  marks  in  1876  led  to 
the  issue  of  new  Postage  Due  labels. 
In  the  Post-pfnce  Notice  of  December, 
1875,  referring  to  the  new  postage 
stamps  the  issue  of  new  3pf,  5pf,  and 
lOpf,  Dues  is  also  recorded.  The  lOpf 
took  the  place  of  the  3kr  and  was  for 
use  on  unfranked  private  letters,  while 
the  3pf  and  5pf  were  intended  to  indi- 
cate the  amount  payable  on  unfranked 
dutiable  official  correspondence.  The 
new  stamps  were  formed  by  printing 
the  ordinary  postage  stamps  in  ^grey 
and  then  overprinting  them  "Vom 
Empfanger  Zahlbar"  in  two  lines  in 
red.  They  were,  of  course,  like  the 
contemporary  postage  stamps  printed 
on  the  paper  watermarked  with  zig-zag 
lines  set  horizontally  and  wide  apart. 

In  1883  all  three  values  appeared  on 
the  paper  watermarked  with  vertical 
zig-zag  lines  close  together,  which  had 
been  introduced  for  the  ordinary 
stamps  about  two  years  before.  The 
lOpf  provides  three  errors  in  the  over- 
print viz.— "Empfang",  "Empfanper", 
and  "Zahlhar". 

In  1889,  again  following  the  lead  of 
the  postage  stamps,  we  find  the  Postage 
Due  labels  perforated  14 V£  and  water- 
marked horizontal  zig-zag  lines  placed 
close  together.  These,  as  a  reference 
to  the  history  of  the  contemporary 
.postage  stamps  will  show,  were  printed 
in  sheets  of  100.  The  3pf  of  this  series 
is  known  with  overprint  inverted.  In 
July,  1895,  it  was  reported  that  a  2pf 
stamp  was  to  be  added  to  the  set  but 
this  was  not  actually  issued  until  some 
months  later.  The  fear  that  this  value 
would  not  be  ready  in  time  led  to  the 
issue  of  Bavaria's  only  provisional. 
On  September  4th  a  small  quantity  of 
the  3pf  value  was  surcharged  in  red 
with  a  "2"  in  each  corner.  As  this 
variety  is  of  some  rarity  its  use  must 
have  been  very  limited.  Since  1895 
Bavaria  has  issued  nothing  new  in  the 
way  of  Postage  Due  stamps. 


Reference  List. 

1862.     Type-set.     Silkthread  in  paper.      Imperf. 

95.     3kr  black,  Scott's  No.   101. 
1871.     Typographed.      Wmk.      crossed      lines. 


[ypographed 
Perl:   Iiy2. 


96.  Ikr  black,   Scott's   No.  102. 

97.  3kr  black,   Scott's  No.   103. 


1876.     Wmk.     horizontal     zig-zag     lines     wide 
apart.     Perf.    11^. 

98.  3pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  104. 

99.  5pf  grey,  Scott's-  No.  105. 

100.  lOpf  grey,  Scott's  No.  106. 

1883.     Wmk.    vertical    zig-zag    lines    close    to- 
gether.    Perf.    \\yz. 

101.  3pf  grey,   Scott's  No.   107. 

102.  5pf  "rey,   Scott's   No.   108. 

103.  lOpf  grey,  Scott's  No.  109. 

1888-95.     Wmk.    horizontal   zig-zag   lines    close 
together.     Perf.   14^. 

104.  "2"  in  red  on  2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  114. 

105  2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  110. 

106  3pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  111. 

107  5pf  grey,   Scott's  No.   112. 

108  lOpf  grey,  Scott's  No.  113. 


RAILWAY  OFFICIAL  STAMPS. 

The  only  official  stamps  issued  by 
the  Kingdom  of  Bavaria  is  an  unpre- 
tentious set  issued  in  1908  for  the  use 
of  the  Railway  Department  (Eisen- 
bahn).  This  consisted  of  the  con- 
temporary 3,  5,  10,  20,  and  50  pfennig 
postage  stamps  overprinted  with  a  large 
capital  "E".  The  overprint  is  in  green 
on  the  lOpf  and  50pf,  and  in  red  on  the 
other  three  values. 


Reference  List. 

1908.     Wmk.     horizontal     zig-zag     lines     close 
together.     Perf.    14^. 

109.  3pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  201. 

110.  T»pf   green,   Scott's   No.   202. 

111.  lOpf  carmine,   Scott's   No.   203. 

112.  2(>pf    ultramarine,    Scott's    No.    204. 

113.  50pf  marone,    Scott's    No.   205. 


RETURN  LETTER  STAMPS. 

We  cannot  conclude  this  short  history 
of  the  postage  stamps  issued  by  the 
Kingdom  of  Bavaria  without  making 
some  mention  of  the  so-called  Return 
Letter  stamps.  These  labels  used  to  be 
catalogued,  are  illustrated  in  some  of 
the  older  printed  albums,  and  are  fre- 


quently found  in  collections  and,  conse- 
quently, are  often  a  source  of  mystifi- 
cation to  the  tyro.  These  stamps  are 
not  postage  stamps  in  any  sense  of  the 
term  but  are  labels  which  only  relate 
to  the  internal  economy  of  the  post- 
office.  We  grant,  however,  that  they 
are  at  least  as  collectible  as  "officially 
sealed"  or  the  numbered  labels  used  in 
connection  with  registered  letters  in 
many  countries  nowadays. 

When  letters  were  unable  to  be  de- 
livered they  were  sent  to  the  chief 
office  of  the  postal  district.  In  1865 
there  were  six  of  these  offices; 
viz.  Augsburg,  Bamberg,  Miinchen 
(Munich),  Niirnberg,  Speyer,  and 
Wiirzburg.  The  letters  were  opened  to 
discover  the  name  of  the  sender  and 
then  returned,  these  return  letter  labels 
being  used  as  seals  to  close  the  missives 
with.  The  labels  were  all  printed  in 
black  on  white  paper  and  show  the 
Royal  Arms  within  an  oval  inscribed 
"COMMISSION  FUR  RETOUR- 
BRIEFE"  (Returned  Letter  Depart- 
ment) and  the  name  of  the  district 
chief  office.  This  oval  was  enclosed  in 
an  upright  rectangular  frame  with  or- 
namented spandrels.  The  labels  were 
printed  by  lithography  in  sheets  of  84 
and  those  for  each  office  differ  slightly 
from  the  others,  while  for  all,  except 
Bamberg,  there  were  two  or  three 
printings  showing  slight  differences  of 
design.  In  the  case  of  the  labels  for 
Niirnberg  two  types  exist  on  the  same 
sheet. 


(Sommijfion 

fur 
Hiicf  brief  e 


In  1869  Regensberg  (Ratisbon)  was 
added  to  the  list  of  head  district  offices 
and  was  furnished  with  a  label  reading 
"Retourbrief —  (  Kgl.  Oberpostamt — Re- 
gensberg)" in  three  lines  within  a 
single-lined  oblong.  This  label  was  set 
up  from  ordinary  printer's  type.  These 
labels,  with  various  inscriptions,  grad- 
ually superseded  the  lithographed  ones. 
Most,  if  not  all,  were  printed  in  sheets 
of  thirty  and  being  set  by  hand  there 
are  as  many  varieties  as  there  are 
stamps  on  the  sheet.  Little  care  was 
exercised  in  their  production  and  not 
only  may  lettering  of  different  sizes  and 
fonts  be  found  on  different  stamps  but 
such  glaring  inaccuracies  as  "Rotour- 
brief"  for  "Retourbrief",  and  "Oher- 
postamt"  for  "Oberpostamt"  are  by  no 
means  infrequent. 


BERGEDORF. 


In  the  early  sixties  one  of  the  favorite 
conundrums  of  the  philatelic  journals 
of  the  period  was  "Where  is  JJerge- 
dorf?"  What  little  information  was  to 
be  found  in  gazeteers  and  similar  works 
of  reference  was  of  such  a  conflicting 
nature  that,  but  for  the  tangible  evi- 
dence of  the  postage  stamps,  one  might 
be  pardoned  for  doubting  its  existence ! 
Even  nowadays  the  student  will  find 
little  of  note  regarding  Bergedorf  in  any 
of  the  standard  works  of  reference  and 
it  is  evident  that  its  fame  is  due  entirely 
to  its  postage  stamps.  And  though  the 
stamps  themselves  comprise  but  one 
modest  issue,  which  was  in  use  for  the 
short  period  of  six  years,  Bergedorf  has 
managed  to  attract  plenty  of  notice. 
Not  only  have  several  admirable  articles 
appeared  in  the  philatelic  press  from 
time  to  time,  but  the  legitimacy  of  some 
of  its  varieties  have  on  more  than  one 
occasion  been  the  cause  of  heated  argu- 
ment. The  most  recent  work  on  the 
subject  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Georges 
Brunei,  an  excellent  translation  of 
which  will  be  found  in  volumes  X  and 
XI  of  the  Postage  Stamp. 

Though  early  writers  on  the  subject 
could  find  only  conflicting  statements  re- 
garding the  actual  whereabouts  of  this 
small  territory  a  writer  in  the  Stamp 
Collectors'  Magazine  for  March,  1863, 
gives  an  historical  survey  of  such  inter- 
est that  we  take  the  liberty  of  reproduc- 
ing his  notes  in  full. 

"In  1387,  the  Semiramis  of  the  North, 
wearing  already  the  crowns  of  Den- 
mark and  Norway,  received  that  of 
Sweden.  Albert,  the  deposed  and  im- 
prisoned king,  was  recognized  only  by 
the  island  of  Gottland  and  the  city  of 
Holmia,  the  then  capital.  John  of  Meck- 
lenberg,  his  father-in-law,  was  besieged 
in  that  city;  and  the  magistrates  of 
Rostock  and  Wismar  issued  an  edict,  al- 
lowing all  pirates  and  predatory 
brigands,  who  should  attack  and  capture 
any  sea  or  land  convoy  appertaining  to 
the  queen's  party,  free  access  to  their 
ports,  and  ready  means  for  disposal  of 
plunder.  The  numerous  predatory  bands 
of  that  lawless  period,  glad  of  any  ex- 
cuse for  exercising  their  profession, 
plundered  the  villages,  and  under  the 
pretext  of  revictualling  (ravitailler} 
Holmia,  called  themselves  Vitalicns,  or 
victuallers. 

"After  this  war  ceased,  the  Vitaliens, 
satisfied  with  their  lucrative  calling, 
were  by  no  means  inclined  to  resign 
it;  and  the  people  of  Rostock  and  Wis- 
mar, who  had  made  peace  with  the 
queen,  finding  it  impossible  to  lay  the 


fiend  they  had  raised,  unified  with  Ham- 
burg and  the  other  Hanseatic  towns, 
in  occasional  crusades  against  their  for- 
mer allies.  This  desultory  hostility  con- 
tinued some  years ;  and,  in  1410,  Ham- 
burg, Lubeck,  and  Bremen  obtained  an 
undertaking  from  the  Counts  of  Olden- 
burg, who  doubtless  had  private  reasons 
satisfactory  to  themselves — in  the  shape 
of  tribute-money  for  their  patronage — 
to  withdraw  the  protection  hitherto  af- 
forded the  Vitaliens.  These  latter  were 
by  no  means  disposed  to  succumb,  and 
allied  themselves  with  other  brigands, 
then  known  under  the  designation  of 
choenapans  and  filibusters. 

"As  the  cave  of  Adullam,  ages  be- 
fore, afforded  refuge  to  everyone  that 
was  distressed,  or  in  debt,  or  discon- 
tented, so,  among  other  strongholds  of 
the  period  under  notice,  did  the  castle  of 
Bergedorf,  which  now  makes  its  appear- 
ance on  the  scene.  This  was  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  romantic  purposes  of  a 
robber's  den ;  possessing  a  subterranean 
passage  leading  from  its  vaults,  with  an 
outlet  at  a  considerable  distance  in  the 
forest.  Thence  the  marauders  issuing, 
set  upon  and  plundered  travelling  mer- 
chants and  others;  and,  if  not  satisfied 
with  the  booty  obtained  from  their  per- 
sons, blindfolded,  and  bore  them  off  to 
the  dungeons  of  Bergedorf,  till  they 
could  procure  ransom  from  their  friends. 
They  were  supposed  to  be  privately  pro- 
tected by  Duke  Henry  of  Saxony — under 
whose  jurisdiction  their  retreat  then  was 
— for  reasons,  most  probably  pretty 
weighty,  best  known  to  himself;  as  he 
never  exerted  his  influence  to  quell  the 
nuisance,  notwithstanding  repeated  peti- 
tions were  addressed  him  by  the  authori- 
ties of  the  surrounding  cities. 

"At  length  the  Burgomasters  of  Ham- 
burg and  Lubeck,  with  two  thousand 
foot,  and  eight  hundred  horse,  and  a 
crowd  of  volunteer  citizens,  made  a  reg- 
gular  attack  on  the  town  of  Bergedorf; 
which,  yielding  after  a  brief  resistance, 
was  pillaged  and  burnt.  The  brigands, 
however,  retreated  to  the  castle,  which 
was  strong  enough  to  withstand  for 
some  days  the  arquebuses  and  cannons  of 
that  time.  On  the  fifth  day  the  be- 
siegers collected  and  fired  a  quantity  of 
combustibles  the  stifling  smoke  of  which, 
compelling  the  defenders  to  retire  from 
the  walls  and  windows,  enabled  them  to 
make  an  escalade,  and  the  garrison  sur- 
rendered on  condition  of  being  allowed 
to  depart  with  whole  skins.  In  1430  it 
was  agreed  that  the  Duke  of  Saxony 
should  abandon  forever,  to  the  towns  of 
Lubeck  and  Hamburg,  the  castle  of  Ber- 


23 


gedorf,  with  its  appanages;  and  for  more 
than  four  hundred  years  has  it  remained 
under  the  joint  protection  of  those 
cities,  each  claiming  the  alternate  nomi- 
nation of  a  bailiff,  or  governor  of  sena- 
torial rank — at  first  appointed  for  four, 
afterwards  for  six  years — and  supply- 
ing an  equal  number  of  soldiers  to  gar- 
rison the  castle." 

Hamburg  purchased  the  exclusive  own- 
ership of  Bergedorf  on  August  8th,  1867, 
the  price  paid  being  200,000  thalers — 
about  $150,000  in  United  States  cur- 
rency. 

The  midget  territory  of  Bergedorf 
has  an  area  of  about  50  square  miles 
and  is  situated  to  the  south-east  of 
Hamburg.  Its  boundaries  are  the  rivers 
Elbe  and  Bille  and  the  tributaries  of  the 
former  cut  it  up  into  several  detached 
portions.  The  chief  town,  Bergedorf,  has 
about  10,000  inhabitants  while  the  par- 
ish of  Geestacht,  adjoining,  and  the  vil- 
lages of  Neuengramm,  Altengramm, 
Kirchwarder,  and  Kurslach  muster  be- 
tween them  about  another  10,000.  The 
villages  are  known  as  the  Vierlande 
(four  lands)  from  the  fact  that  each  is 
on  an  islet.  The  soil  is  fertile  and  mar- 
ket gardening  forms  the  chief  industry. 
Hamburg  forms  the  principal  market 
for  the  produce. 

According  to  some  writers  the  postal 
history  of  Bergedorf  dates  from  1837 
when,  it  is  said,  a  Prussian  post-office 
was  established.  Though  the  veracity  of 
this  statement  has  been  questioned 
there  seems  no  doubt  that  a  post-office 
under  the  joint  administration  of  Lu- 
beck  and  Hamburg  was  established  in 
1847.  The  two  larger  cities  joined  the 
German-Austrian  Postal  Union  in  Jan- 
uary, 1852,  but  no  immediate  provision 
was  made  for  the  issue  of  postage 
stamps  as  stipulated  in  one  of  the  regu- 
lations of  the  Union.  In  fact  it  was  not 
until  January  1st,  1859,  that  Hamburg 
and  Lubeck  issued  stamps  and  shortly 
after  these  labels  appeared  letters  posted 
in  the  Bergedorf  district  were  required 
to  be  prepaid  with  Hamburg  stamps.  Be- 
fore long  Bergedorf  began  to  agitate  for 
stamps  of  its  own  and  though  the  Post- 
master, Herr  Paalzow,  did  his  best  by 
both  writing  to  and  interviewing  the 
higher  officials  his  efforts  were  not  im- 
mediately successful.  Herr  Paalzow's 
most  interesting  effort  took  the  form  of 
a  lengthy  document,  dated  July  25th, 
1859,  in  which  he  made  definite  pro- 
posals for  certain  values,  to  be  executed 
in  a  certain  way,  with  estimate  of  costs. 
We  make  a  short  extract  from  this  docu- 
ment : — 

In  accordance  with  the  tariff  of  lo- 
cal postal  rates,  five  denominations  of 


stamps  would  be  necessary  for  Berge- 
dorf, of  the  following  values: — 

(a)  */2     schilling 

(b)  1       schilling 

(c)  \y2  schilling 

(d)  3       schilling 

(e)  4       schilling 

The    cost    of    manufacture    by    Ch. 
Fuchs,  of  Hamburg,  including  printing, 
paper,  and  gumming,  for  lithographed 
stamps,   like   those   introduced   at   Lu- 
beck, with  the  arms  of  the  two  towns, 
would  amount : — 
For  (a)  to  3sch  per  thousand 
For  (b)  to  4sch  per  thousand 
For  (c)  to  4^sch  per  thousand 
For  (d)  to  5sch  per  thousand 
For  (e)  to  7^sch  per  thousand 
In  addition  the  stone  which  would 
belong    to    us,    once    and    for    all,    20 
thalers  cost  price. 

Herr  Fuchs  agrees,  in  the  final 
manufacture  of  the  stamps,  to  submit 
to  any  supervision  and  to  be  respon- 
sible for  all  damage  which  might  hap- 
pen through  the  fault  or  neglect  of  his 
firm  or  his  employees.  With  regard  to 
the  sale  of  stamps,  it  could  eventually 
be  decided  that  this  could  be  done  dur- 
ing office  hours  at  all  the  post-offices. 
on  payment  of  their  face  value,  but 
that  the  selling  of  postage  stamps 
should  be  absolutely  forbidden,  in  the 
whole  territory  of  the  two  free  towns, 
to  all  private  persons. 

With  regard  to  their  use,  I  would 
suggest  that  articles  sent  by  mail  can 
be  prepaid  by  means  of  postage  stamps 
but  that  for  articles  addressed  to  places 
within  the  Royal  Danish  domains,  now 
as    before,    only    the    Royal    Danish 
stamps  may  be  used. 
Herr  Paalzow  also  submitted  an  en- 
graving of  a  design  he  considered'  suit- 
able.   This   showed   the  joint   Arms   of 
Lubeck  and  Hamburg  on  a  central  circle 
with  "SCHILLINGE"  above,  "BERGE- 
DORF POSTMARKE"  below.    "LH— 
PA"  in  the  lower  angles,  and  large  num- 
erals in  the  upper  corners.    Though  this 
design   was    not    adopted   when    it   was 
eventually  decided  to  issue  stamps  there 
is  no  doubt  it  formed  the  inspiration  for 
the  chosen  drawing.     The  essay  was  ap- 
parently printed  in  vertical  strips  of  five 
in  black  on  paper  of  various  colors. 

In  the  quotation  from  Herr  Paal- 
zow's document  mention  is  made  of  a 
Danish  Post-office.  When  this  was  es- 
tablished is  uncertain  but  it  was  in  ac- 
tive operation  long  before  Bergedorf  was 
supplied  with  its  own  stamps  and  also 
continued  in  business  for  some  time 
afterwards.  This  office  dealt  with  all 
correspondence  addressed  to  Denmark, 
Luxemberg,  Oldenburg  and  Schleswig- 


Holstein,  the  stamps  used  being  those  of 
Denmark. 

Two  years  passed  and  then  in  June, 
1861,  a  convention  was  held  to  discuss  the 
matter,  the  outcome  being  that  Berge- 
dorf  was  allowed  to  issue  its  own  stomps. 
Whether  the  designs  prepared  by  Herr 
Ch.  Fuchs  were  shown  at  this  conven- 
tion or  not  is  a  doubtful  point  but  at 
any  rate  his  designs  were  adopted  and 
in  October  the  general  public  were  noti- 
fied of  the  forthcoming  issue  of  stamps 
by  means  of  the  following: — 

NOTICE  To  THE  PUBLIC. 

From  the  1st  November  of  the  pres- 
ent year  (1861)  all  letters  posted  at 
the  post  offices  of  this  town,  to  be  sent 
to  Geestacht,  to  the  office  of  despatch 
of  the  district  to  Vierland,  as  well  as 
to  Bill,  to  Oschenwerder,  Spadenlemd, 
and  Moorwerder,  can  be  prepaid, 
either  by  making  payment  in  cash,  or 
by  means  of  postage  stamps.  The 
postage  stamps,  for  the  said  period, 
will  include  the  following  values: — 
J^sch  currency  on  blue  paper,  printed 

in  black. 
Isch  currency  on  white  paper,  printed 

in  black. 
IJ^sch     currency     on     yellow     paper, 

printed  in  black. 
3sch  currency  on  red  paper,  printed  in 

blue. 
4sch  currency  on  buff  paper,  printed 

in  black. 

Each  postage  stamp  bears  in  the 
centre  the  postal  arms  of  Lubeck  and 
Hamburg  linked  together  on  a  wavy 
ground.  The  arms  are  surrounded  by 
a  band  above  which  in  the  upper  cor- 
ners are  the  letters  L  H,  and  in  the 
lower  ones  the  letters  P  A.  In  addi- 
tion, there  is  in  the  upper  frame  of  the 
stamps  the  word  Bergedorf;  in  the 
lower  frame,  the  word  Postmarke ;  the 
value  in  figures  is  in  the  four  corners, 
and  in  words  at  the  two  sides.  The 
back  is  covered  with  the  necessary  gum 
for  placing  them  upon  the  letters. 

Bergedorf,  the  17th  October,  1861. 
The  Director  of  Posts, 

( Signed )    PAALZOW, 
Director  of  Imperial  Posts,  for- 
merly Postmaster  of  the  Lubeck- 
Hamburg  Office  at  Bergedorf. 
The  letters  "L  H  P  A"  shown  in  the 
spandrels   stand   for   "Lubeck    Hamburg 
Post  Ansaalt   (Post  Office)."     The  cur- 
rency was  the  same  as  that  of  Hamburg 
and  Lubeck,  being  in  schillinge  and  Ham- 
burg  marks,    16sch   being   equivalent    to 
a  mark  of  the  value  of  25c  United  States 
currency.     The  stamps  are  the  most  pe- 
culiar ever  issued   in  one  respect — they 


gradually  increase  in  size  according  to 
the  facial  values,  the  lowest  denomina- 
tion measuring  15^x15^  .mm.  and  the 
highest  one  21^x21  mm. 

The  stamps  were  produced  by  litho- 
graphy by  Herr  Christian  Fuchs  of 
Hamburg.  One  type  for  each  of  the 
five  values  was  drawn  on  the  same  lith- 
ographic stone  and  from  these  the 
transfers  necessary  to  make  the  print- 
ing stones  were  taken.  On  this  "die 
stone",  if  we  may  so  call  it,  the  IJ^sch 
is  inscribed  "SCHILLINGE"  though, 
as  we  shall  show  later,  this  value  was 
never  issued  with  the  value  spelled  with 
a  final  "E."  On  the  same  stone  an  es- 
say for  a  4sch  stamp  is  shown.  This 
has  the  usual  combined  Lubeck-Ham- 
burg  Arms  in  the  centre  and  "L  H  P 
A"  in  the  spandrels.  The  name  "BER- 
GEDORF," however,  is  placed  just  be- 
low the  Arms  and  the  border  is  in- 
scribed "SCHILLING"  on  all  four 
sides.  Numerals  "4"  occupy  the  cor- 
ners and  the  whole  design  is  much  more 
delicate  than  the  issued  one.  This  es- 
say was  prepared  about  1866  when  the 
authorities  proposed  to  change  the  de- 
sign of  the  4sch  as  it  was  believed  this 
denomination  had  been  forged  in  Ham- 
burg. The  change  of  design,  however, 
was  abandoned  owing  to  the  war  which 
broke  out  at  this  time  between  Prussia 
and  Austria.  Proofs  from  this  "die 
stone"  are  known  in  at  least  eight  dif- 
ferent colors. 

In  the  official  document  relating  to 
the  issue  of  the  stamps,  previously 
quoted,  no  mention  will  be  found  of  the 
y2  schilling  in  black  on  pale  lilac  paper, 
and  the  3  schillinge  in  black  on  rose 
colored  paper.  These  two  varieties  are 
of  a  considerable  degree  of  rarity,  as  a 
reference  to  any  catalogue  quotations 
will  prove,  and  much  controversy  has 
raged  as  to  their  status.  Writing  with 
regard  to  them  many  years  ago  Mr. 
Duerst  stated:— "The  genuineness  of 
these  two  stamps  is  open  to  doubt. 
These  colors  were  not  given  in  the  offi- 
cial decree  promulgating  the  issue  of 
the  stamps,  and  were  only  described 
and  catalogued  after  the  cessation  of 
the  Bergedorf  post." 

On  the  other  hand  M.  Moens  was  a 
strenuous  believer  in  the  legitimacy  of 
these  varieties  and  as  evidence  that 
they  were  issued  published  a  letter  he 
had  received  from  the  Director  of  Posts 
himself,  viz: — 

March  29th,  1878. 
Mv  dear  Friend, — 

There  has  been  published  no  official 
information  on  the  subject  of  the  is- 
sue, rather  by  way  of  trial,  of  the  old 
Y2  schilling  and  3  schillinge  stamps, 


with  which  we  were  concerned  a  little 
time  ago,  because  it  was  immediately 
realised  that  the  colours  would  have 
to  be  changed,  these  colours  being 
difficult  to  recognize  by  artificial 
light. 

The  pourparlers  and  discussions  on 
this  point  were  never  exchanged  di- 
rectly between  the  Bergedorf  authori- 
ties and  myself,  and  were  mostly  car- 
ried on  verbally,  which  shows  that 
there  can  be  no  documents  on  this 
subject. 

With   kind    regards, 

(Signed)  PAALZOW. 
From  this  letter  one  would  infer  that 
the  stamps  were  in  use  for  some  days 
at  any  rate  though  no  cancelled  copies 
are  known  or  have  ever  been  heard  of. 
Evidently  M.  Mocns  misconstrued  the 
meaning  of  Herr  Paalzow's  letter  for 
an  unbiased  study  of  both  sides  of  the 
question  shows  the  improbability  of  any 
varieties  other  than  those  mentioned  in 
the  official  notice  having  been  used. 

The  final  quietus  as  to  the  right  of 
these  varieties  to  be  considered  issued 
stamps  was  given  by  Herr  Paalzow's 
son  in  an  interesting  article  which  ap- 
peared in  1898  in  the  Virginia  Phila- 
telist. Herr  Paalzow,  Jr.,  states  most 
emphatically  that  the  J^sch  black  on 
lilac  and  3sch  black  on  rose  were  not  is- 
sued. He  explains  their  existence  as 
follows : — a  sheet  of  each  value  was 
printed  and  submitted  for  approval  to 
the  administration.  The  colors  of  the 
1,  ~\.l/2,  and  4sch  were  approved  and 
those  of  the  l/2  and  3sch  were  rejected. 
The  printer  was  then  ordered  to  print 
the  ^sch  in  black  on  blue  paper,  and 
the  3sch  in  blue  on  rose  paper.  Herr 
Paalzow  asserts  that  his  father's  letter, 
written  in  German,  did  not  convey  the 
meaning  construed  by  M.  Moens  that 
they  were  issued  in  a  postal  sense,  but 
rather  that  they  had  been  made  as 
proofs  or  experiments. 

These  "stamps"  are  therefore  only  es- 
says— though  we  are  perfectly  willing  to 
concede  they  are  rare  essays — and  real- 
ly have  no  right  in  a  catalogue  of  is- 
sued postage  stamps. 

On  January  1st,  1901,  all  the  docu- 
ments bearing  on  the  dual  ownership  of 
Bergedorf  by  Lubeck  and  Hamburg  and 
lying  in  the  archives  at  Lubeck  were 
transferred  to  Hamburg.  While  sort- 
ing the  various  papers  a  block  of  twelve 
of  each  of  these  essays  was  found  with 
the  documents  relating  to  the  issue  of 
postage  stamps.  Beyond,  however,  prov- 
ing that  they  were  officially  prepared — 
a  fact  that  has  never  been  disputed — the 
discovery  of  these  stamps  threw  no  fur- 
ther light  on  their  status. 


THE  l/2  SCHILLING. 

The  y2  schilling  has  the  value  in- 
scribed as  "EIN  HALBER"  in  the  left 
border  and,  as  we  have  already  stated, 
measures  15J4  mm.  square.  This  value 
was  printed  in  black  on  blue  paper  and 
it  is  the  only  one  in  which  any  color 
variation  is  noticeable.  The  paper  chosen 
was  of  a  pale  blue  tint  but  during  the 
process  of  printing  this  paper  ran  out  of 
stock  and  the  additional  supply  obtained 
was  of  a  much  deeper  tint. 

This  value  was  printed  in  sheets  of 
200  divided  into  two  panes  of  100  each 
and  arranged  in  rather  a  curious  man- 
ner. From  the  design  on  the  original 
"die  stone"  the  workman  took  twelve 
transfers  which  he  arranged  in  a  block 
in  two  vertical  rows  of  six  each.  This 
block  was  then  transferred  to  the  litho- 
graphic stone  sixteen  times  and  the  eight 
additional  impressions  required  to  com- 
plete the  sheet  of  200  were  added  to  the 
base  as  shown  in  the  annexed  diagram: 


rH  co  o  r-  cirH 


rH  CO  O  .t~  C5  r-  I  rH  CO  »O  t—  Oi  r-  It— 


rHCOOir-OlrHrHCOOlr—  OirH 


rHCOOt-CirHrHCOlOt-OirH 


It  would  hardly  be  possible  to  identify 
each  of  the  twelve  varieties  composing 
the  transfer  block  though  numbers  1,  2, 
3  and  10  may  be  distinguished  by  small 
peculiarities. 


26 


Much  has  been  made  of  the  so-called 
secret  marks  of  the  stamps  of  Bergedorf. 
They  are  really  guide  dots  made  by  the 
lithographer  to  assist  him  in  the  correct 
drawing  of  his  designs.  But  though  ac- 
cidental varieties,  inasmuch  as  they  were 
not  intended  to  form  a  part  of  the  origi- 
nal designs,  they  are  of  considerable 
importance  to  philatelists  for  they  are 
a  valuable  test  in  distinguishing  the 
original  stamps  from  the  "reprints." 

The  mark  for  the  ^sch  consists  of  a 
small  dot  in  the  linked  circle  under  the 
second  E  of  BERGEDORF.  Dr.  Brunei 
states  that  there  is  also  a  small  line, 
shaped  like  a  harpoon,  between  the  wing 
and  leg  of  the  eagle,  and  that  on  most 
copies  the  link  opposite  the  A  of  HAL- 
BER  is  cut  by  a  small  line. 

The  total  number  printed  was  200,000 
(a  thousand  sheets)  and  of  these  about 
161,000  were  sold  during  the  time  they 
were  current.  The  stamps  became  obso- 
lete on  January  1st,  1868,  and  a  few 
months  later  the  remainders  were  of- 
fered for  sale.  These  were  purchased 
by  M.  Moens  for  the  sum  of  one  thou- 
sand francs  ($200)  and  among  the  lot 
were  approximately  39,000  of  the 


ment    of    the    sheet    was,    therefore,    as 
follows : 


THE  1  SCHILLING. 

The  value  on  the  1  schilling  was  de- 
noted by  the  word  "EIN"  in  the  left 
border,  and  as  this  word  was  rather 
short  the  spaces  on  each  side  were  filled 
with  small  ornaments.  The  design 
measures  exactly  16  mm.  square.  This 
value  was  printed  in  black  on  white  pa- 
per in  sheets  of  200.  A  block  of  ten 
transfers  was  taken  from  the  original 
die,  and  arranged  in  two  vertical  rows 
of  five.  As  the  corner  numerals  in  the 
original  drawing  were  considered  too 
thick  and  clumsy  they  were  removed 
before  making  the  transfers.  The  work- 
man then  had  to  draw  in  the  whole  of 
the  forty  numerals  by  hand  so  that  small 
differences  may  be  found.  From  this 
block  of  transfers  the  lithographic  stone 
was  made,  the  block  being  transferred 
twentv  times.  The  stamps  were  ar- 
ranged in  two  panes  of  one  hundred 
each  placed  one  above  the  other  and 
separated  by  a  space  of  about  2  mm. 
For  some  reason  best  known  to  himself 
the  workman  inverted  all  the  stamps  in 
the  lower  pane  so  that  each  sheet  pro- 
vides ten  tete  beche  pairs.  The  arrange- 


1 

2 

1 

2 

1 

2 

1 

2 

1 

2 

3 

4 

3 

4 

3 

4 

3 

4 

3 

4 

5 

6 

5 

6 

5 

6 

5 

6 

5 

6 

7 

8 

7 

8 

7 

8 

7 

8 

7 

8 

9 

10 

9 

10 

9 

10 

9 

10 

9 

10 

1 

2 

1 

2 

1 

2 

1 

2 

1 

2 

3 

4 

3 

4 

3 

4 

3 

4 

3 

4 

5 

6 

5 

6 

5 

6 

5 

6 

5 

6 

7878787878 
9     10      9     10      9     10      9    10      9     10 


OT     6      01     6      01     6      01     6      01     6 


I  8 
fi  9 
8  f 


8 

9 

f 

2       I       2       I 

Ot     6      01     6 

8  I      8      I 

9  Q      9      S 


Q      9 
8      f 
Z 


f       8 

2       t 


9       9       £ 
8      t      8 
T       2      T 
01     6      01     6 

8181 
959Q 

t       8       *       8 


9  S 

t  8 

Z  I 

01  6 

8  I 

9  e 

*  8 

Z  I 


There  are  three  secret  marks  for  this 
value;  a  dot  on  the  small  circle  below 
the  second  E  of  BERGEDORF,  another 
below  the  I  of  EIN,  and  another  above 
the  first  L  of  SCHILLING.  A  further 
peculiarity  of  this  value  is  the  fact  that 
the  first  two  letters  of  POSTMARKE 
are  always  joined.  Of  the  ten  impressions 
forming  the  transfer  block  numbers  1, 
2,  6,  7,  8,  9  and  10  can  be  identified  by 
small  peculiarities. 

Altogether  90,000  of  the  Isch  were 
printed.  Of  these  64,000  were  sold 
during  the  period  of  their  currency, 
leaving  a  balance  of  26,000  in  the  re- 
mainders sold  to  M.  Moens. 


THE  \y2  SCHILLING. 

The  value  on  this  stamp  was  denoted 
by  the  inscription  "EIN  u.  EIN 
HALB."  in  the  left  border,  the  design 
measuring  17^4  mm.  square.  In  the 
original  design  the  l^sch  is  inscribed 
"SCHILLINGE"  and  though  it  seems 
certain  that  a  stone  was  prepared  from 
this  and  a  number  of  sheets  printed 
these  stamps  were  never  issued  and  can 
only  be  considered  as  essays.  The 
spelling  was  objected  to  and  the  litho- 
grapher had  to  make  a  new  stone.  Dr. 
Brunei  says  "At  one  time  he  thought 
of  re-drawing  the  whole  stamp,  but  he 
soon  gave  up  that  idea  and  contented 
himself  with  making  up  a  fresh  setting, 
the  final  E  being  simply  erased."  This 
can,  however,  hardly  have  been  the  case 
or  there  would  have  been  a  space  be- 
tween the  G  and  the  end  of  the  tablet. 


27 


As  a  matter  of  fact  the  word  is  proper- 
ly centered  in  the  border  and  it  is  evi- 
dent an  impression  was  taken  from  the 
original  die,  the  offending  word  erased, 
and  SCHILLING  drawn  in  its  place. 
From  this  secondary  "die"  the  block  of 
transfers  used  in  making  the  printing 
stone  was  laid  down.  Writing  some 
years  ago  on  the  subject  Mr.  Duerst 
stated  "The  first  issue  contained  all 
with  the  error  SCHILLINGS,  and 
gradually  this  was  altered  to  SCHIL- 
LING by  entirely  erasing  the  word  and 
inserting  SCHILLING.  As  a  conse- 
quence blocks  with  both  ways  of  spell- 
ing can  be  found  as  well  as  whole 
sheets  without  the  error  SCHIL- 
LINGE."  This  is  manifestly  inaccu- 
rate, for  had  the  alteration  been 
effected  in  this  manner  all  sorts  of 
varieties  in  the  lettering  of  SCHIL- 
LING would  exist. 

A  block  of  twelve  transfers,  ar- 
ranged in  two  vertical  rows  of  six  each, 
was  used  in  making  the  lithographic 
stone.  The  sheets  consisted  of  200 
stamps  in  two  panes  of  100,  placed  one 
above  the  other,  and  this  necessitated 
an  even  more  curious  arrangement  than 
we  have  already  referred  to  in  the  case 
of  the  y2sch.  The  block  of  twelve  was 
transferred  eight  times  for  each  pane 
and  the  additional  four  stamps  were 
added  to  the  ends  of  the  middle  rows. 
The  arrangement  of  each  pane  was, 
therefore,  as  follows  : — 


1  2 

3  4 

5  6 

7  8 

9  10 


1  2 

3  4 

5  6 

7  8 

9  10 


9     10       9     10 


2    11     12     11     12     11     12     11     12 

312121212 

434343434 

56565656 

78787878 

9     10       9     10       9     10       9     10 

11     12     11     12     11     12     11     12 


The  additional  stamps  were  all  in- 
verted in  relation  to  the  others  so  we 
find  eight  tete-beche  pairs  in  each  sheet. 

The  secret  marks  consist  of  a  dot  in 
the  link  under  the  second  E  of  BERGE- 
DORF,  and  another  in  the  link  over  the 
first  L  of  SCHILLING.  Of  the  twelve 
impressions  forming  the  transfer  block 
only  No.  7  seems  to  provide  a  mark  by 
means  of  which  it  can  be  identified. 

Of  this  denomination  100,000  were 
printed  and  as  only  32,000  were  sold 
while  the  issue  was  in  use  the  re- 
mainders handed  over  to  M.  Moens 
consisted  of  no  less  than  68,000. 


THE  3  SCHILLINGS. 

The  3  schilling,  inscribed  "DRIE," 
was  printed  in  blue  on  rose  colored 
paper,  the  design  measuring  19J4  by 
19%  mm.  This  value  was  printed  in 
sheets  of  160  in  sixteen  rows  of  ten.  A 
block  of  ten  transfers  was  made  from 
the  original  design  these  being  arranged 
in  two  horizontal  rows  of  five  each, 
thus 


5 

10 


This  block  was,  therefore,  transferred 
sixteen  times  to  complete  the  stone, 
there  being  two  vertical  rows  of  these 
blocks.  The  upper  block  of  eight  trans- 
fers (80  stamps)  was  divided  from  the 
lower  one  by  a  space  of  about  4  mm. 
so  the  sheets  are  really  in  two  panes 
placed  one  above  the  other. 

The  secret  marks  consist  of  a  dot  in 
the  link  above  the  second  L  of 
SCHILLINGS,  a  small  dot  on  the  out- 
er frame  under  the  same  letter,  an 
oblique  line  projecting  from  the  top 
frame  above  the  second  E  of  BERGE- 
DORF,  and  a  dot  on  the  frame  line 
under  the  M  of  POSTMARKE. 

Altogether  80,000  of  these  stamps 
were  printed  of  which  about  37,000  were 
sold  during  the  period  of  their  cur- 
rency and  the  balance  of  43,000  was  in- 
cluded in  the  parcel  of  remainders  pur- 
chased by  M.  Moens. 


THE  4  SCHILLINGE. 

The  value  on  the  4sch  was  expressed 
by  the  word  "VIER,"  the  design 
measuring  21^  by  21  mm.  These 
stamps  were  printed  in  black  on  brown 
paper  in  sheets  of  eighty  arranged  in 


QBERCEDORFC 


28 


ten  rows  of  eight.  The  transfer  block 
used  in  making  the  lithographic  stone 
consisted  of  eight  impressions  in  two 
horizontal  rows  of  four  each  These 
were  arranged  in  the  sheet  as  follows: 


1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

0 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

There  was  a  space  of  5  mm.  between 
the  fifth  and  sixth  rows  dividing  the 
stamps  into  two  panes  of  forty  each 
As  this  division  comes  in  the  center  of 
the  two  middle  blocks  of  transfers  it  is 
possible  that  in  these  two  rows  the 
group  was  broken  and  the  two  rows 
placed  horizontally  so  that  the  types 
would  be 


2      3 
2      3 


This,  however,  could  only  be  proved 
by  finding  a  mark  of  identification  on 
one  or  more  of  the  impressions  in  the 
group  of  transfers. 

The  secret  marks  for  this  value  con- 
sist of  a  projection  of  the  vertical  line 
on  the  left  of  the  P  of  POSTMARKS 
through  the  lower  frame,  and  an  irreg- 
ularity in  the  wavy  lines  of  the  back- 
ground above  and  to  the  left  of  the 
tower.  One  of  these  lines  does  not 
continue  downwards  like  the  others,  but 
turns  back  close  to  the  tower  thus 
showing  a  break. 

Altogether  80,000  of  the  4sch  stamps 
were  printed,  30,000  being  sold  while  the 
issue  was  current  and  the  balance  of 
50,000  going  to  M.  Moens  with  the  rest 
of  the  remainders. 

Although  there  were  considerably 
more  of  the  l^sch  in  the  remainders 
than  3sch  or  4sch  yet  the  two  latter 
values  are  priced  a  little  less  in  the 
catalogues. 

Owing  to  the  number  of  remainders 
genuine  originals  are  still  obtainable 
in  unused  condition  at  quite  low  prices. 
Used,  however,  the  stamps  are  all  very 
scarce. 

Reference  List. 

1861.  Lithographed.       Imperf. 

1  ^sch  black  on  blue,  Scott's  No.  3  or  3a. 

2.  Isch  black  on  white,  Scott's  No.  4. 

3.  ll/2   black  on  ydlow,  Scott's  No.  5. 

4.  3sch  blue  on  rose,   Scott  s   No.   b. 

5.  4sch  black  on  brown,  Scott  s  No.  7. 


OFFICIAL  IMITATIONS. 

In    detailing    the    various    values    we 
have  given  the  total  quantities  printed 
and  an  important  point  to  bear  in  mind 
is    that   all   these    were   printed   at   the 
same  time,  that  is,  there  was  only  one 
printing  of  each  value.    This  was   due 
to  the   fact  that   only   one  lithographic 
stone   was    purchased    and    as    soon    as 
the    supply    of    one    value    was    printed 
the  stone  was  cleaned  and  the  impres- 
sions   for    another    denomination    were 
transferred.     It     will     thus     be     under- 
stood that  reprints  do  not  exist,  the  so- 
called    "reprints"    being    nothing    better 
than  imitations  printed  from  new  stones 
though    the    original    "dies"    were    cer- 
tainly   used.    Of    the    many    imitations 
made  only  two  were  made  by  the  Ber- 
gedorf  authorities  themselves.     In  May 
1867  M.  Moens  sent  an  order  for  twelve 
sheets   of   each   of  the    ^sch  and   3sch 
values  in  the  colors  of  the  rare  essays. 
As  the  group  of  transfers  used  in  laying 
down  the  original  stone  was  non-exist- 
ent  fresh   ones   had   to  be   made     The 
i^sch    was    transferred    in    blocks    oi 
eight  and  the  3sch  in  blocks  of  sixteen. 
The  sheets  were  of  the  same  size  as  the 
originals    so    that    the    total    supply    of 
these  imitations  was  2,400  of  the  ^scn 
and  1,920  of  the  3sch.    The  impression 
of  the  ^sch  is  less  sharp  than  that  of 
the  originals  and  the  cross  stroke  of  the 
H    of    SCHILLING   is   either  very   in- 
distinct    or     missing     altogether.    The 
imitations  of  the  3sch  may  be  at  once 
distinguished    by   the    presence    of    two 
small   dots   on  the   center  of  the   b   ol 
POSTMARKS,     dots     which     do     not 
show  in  the  genuine  labels. 


PRIVATE   IMITATIONS. 

When   M.    Moens   purchased   the   re- 
mainders  the  "die   stone"   also   became 
his  property  and  he  caused  new  stones 
to  be  made  from  these  from  which  he 
made  printings  on  four  different  occa- 
sions.   Although  these  are  usually  des- 
ignated   as    reprints    they    are    nothing 
better  than   unofficial  imitations   for,  as 
we    have    already    shown,    the    original 
stones   were   not   available.    It   appears 
that  Moens  had  disposed  of  the  entire 
stock  of  remainders  by  1872  and  as  the 
demand   was    still   good   he   decided   to 
make  imitations.    Further  supplies  were 
made    in    1874,     1887,     and     1888.     We 
think  it  hardly  necessary  to  follow  L>r. 
Brunei's  extensive  survey  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  stones  were  made  up 
for    the    various    printings;    specialists 
who  are  interested  should  refer  to  the 


29 


article  in  the  "Postage  Stamp"  men- 
tioned in  our  introductory  notes.  It 
will  suffice  for  our  purpose  to  point 
out  the  little  peculiarities  by  which  these 
imitations  can  be  told  from  the  genuine 
stamps.  To  start  with  the  1^2  schilling 
was  never  imitated  for,  as  the  original 
design  on  the  "die  stone"  bore  the  spell- 
ing "SCHILLINGE"  all  the  imita- 
tions show  the  same  "error."  Speak- 
ing generally  the  impressions  of  all 
values  are  less  sharp  than  those  of  the 
originals  and  the  shades  of  the  papers 
are  not  the  same. 

The  first  imitations  of  the  ^sch, 
made  in  1872,  measure  15  by  15^  mm. 
The  H  of  SCHILLING  is  always  minus 
the  cross  bar  and  one  (sometimes 
both)  of  the  A's  in  the  inscription  are 
also  without  the  cross  stroke.  In  the 
second  supply,  made  in  1887,  the  labels 
measure  15J/2  mm.  square.  None  of 
the  letters  A  have  bars  and  the  bar  on 
the  H  is  either  missing  or  very  indis- 
tinct. 

In  the  first  edition  of  the  Isch  (1872) 
the  numerals  in  the  corners  are  quite 
different  from  those  on  the  originals 
and  generally  have  erifs  at  foot.  They 
measure  16  mm.  square  like  the  origi- 
nals. In  the  second  imitation  (1887) 
the  numerals  are  all  much  too  thick 
being  1  mm.  wide  instead  of  the  ^  mm. 
of  the  originals.  The  size  of  the  label 
is  16J/2  by  1634  mm.  and  none  of  the 
letters  A  are  provided  with  a  cross 
bar.  In  the  third  supply  (1888)  the  cor- 
ner numerals  are  thin  but  this  imita- 
tion can "  be  at  once  identified  by  the 
background  which  has  almost  entirely 
worn  away. 

The  first  imitation  of  the  3sch  (1872) 
measures  19%  by  19^  mm.  and  can  be 
at  once  distinguished  by  the  absence  of 
shading  on  the  head  of  the  eagle.  The 


second  issue  (1887)  can  be  identified  by 
the  same  characteristic  and  the  size  of 
the  labels  is  also  different  the  measure- 
ments being  19%  by  20  mm.  The  up- 
per part  of  the  shield  is  solid  and  the 
lines  of»  the  background  are  hardly 
visible.  The  third  issue  (1888)  may 
also  be  distinguished  from  the  originals 
by  the  worn  background  and  the  ab- 
sence of  shading  on  the  eagle's  head. 

The  first  imitation  of  the  4sch,  made 
in  1872,  can  be  told  by  the  presence  of 
a  short  line  slanting  upwards  in  the 
circle  opposite  the  I  of  VIER.  The 
wavy  lines  of  the  background,  too,  are 
regular  by  the  top  of  the  tower  and  the 
labels  measure  21  by  20%  mm.  A  sec- 
ond supply  was  printed  in  1874  these 
being  distinguished  by  a  vertical  line 
on  the  head  of  the  eagle  and  numerous 
breaks  in  the  wavy  lines  of  the  back- 
ground. In  the  third  supply,  made  in 
1887,  the  oblique  line  by  the  I  of  VIER 
again  appears.  The  letters  of  BERGE- 
DORF  are  very  irregular  and  the  back- 
ground is  very  rough.  These  imitations 
measure  21%  by  21  y2  mm. 

Moens  also  possessed  the  original 
obliterating  stamp  so  that  he  was  able 
to  oblige  with  "used"  imitations  if  de- 
sired. In  1895  this  obliterator  together 
with  the  "die  stone"  was  sold  to  the 
Berlin  Post  Office  Museum  so  that 
fear  of  any  further  imitations  is  ob- 
viated. 

A  number  of  counterfeits  have  also 
been  made  from  time  to  time  some  of 
these  dating  from  so  long  ago  as  1864. 
A  comparison  of  any  doubtful  speci- 
mens with  the  "secret  marks"  of  the 
originals  and  the  foregoing  description 
of  the  imitations  should  enable  any 
collector  to  decide  for  himself  what 
they  are. 


BREMEN. 


The  town  of  Bremen  owes  its  origin 
to  a  bishopric  founded  in  788  by  Charle- 
magne. Tiring  of  the  episcopal  yoke  it 
joined  the  Hanseatic  league  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  this  league  being  a  con- 
federation of  German  towns  founded 
for  mutual  protection  and  for  the  pro- 
motion of  commercial  advantages. 
Bremen  seems  to  have  been  a  somewhat 
troublesome  member  of  the  league  for 
it  was  several  times  expelled  and  read- 
mitted. By  the  sixteenth  century  it 
was  in  a  highly  prosperous  condition 
and  despite  numerous  vicissitudes  since 
it  has  retained  its  prosperity.  Bremen 
is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Weser 
and  embraces  within  its  boundaries  two 
other  towns — Bremerhaven  and  Vege- 
sack.  Its  modern  commercial  prosperi- 
ty dates  from  the  founding  of  Bremer- 
haven in  1830,  this  port  being  only  sec- 
ond to  Hamburg.  It  is  one  of  the  ship- 
owning  ports  of  Germany  and  has  a 
mercantile  fleet  of  over  600  vessels 
(with  a  tonnage  in  excess  of  700,000) 
including  the  fleet  of  the  North  Ger- 
man Lloyd,  whose  headquarters  are 
here.  Its  most  striking  edifice  is  the 
cathedral,  dating  from  the  llth  century, 
and  the  town  hall  is  also  an  imposing 
structure.  It  has  many  important  in- 
dustries and  at  the  present  time  its 
population  numbers  about  170,000. 

The  town  of  Bremen  is  the  capital  of 
the  free  state  of  that  name,  a  state  hav- 
ing an  area  of  99  square  miles  and  a  popu- 
lation of  about  230,000.  It  sends  one 
representative  to  the  Imperial  Diet  and 
has  one  vote  in  the  Imperial  Council. 
The  state  forms  a  democratic  republic 
governed  by  a  senate  of  sixteen  elected 
members  (the  excutive)  presided  over 
by  two  burgomasters  elected  for  four 
years,  and  an  assembly  of  150  citizens 
(the  legislative).  In  1810  it  was  an- 
nexed by  France,  but  three  years  later 
recovered  its  independence  and  joined 
the  Germanic  Confederation,  subsequent- 
ly the  North  German  Confederation,  and 
finally  was  merged  in  the  German 
Empire. 


ITS  PHILATELIC  HISTORY. 

The  philatelic  history  of  Bremen  is 
short  and  uneventful.  Its  few  stamps 
have,  seemingly,  never  been  so  exten- 
sively written  of  as,  for  instance,  those 
of  Bergedorf  though  they  are  full  of  in- 
terest and  much  still  remains  to  be  dis- 
covered regarding  the  make-up  of  the 
sheets,  the  dates  of  issue  of  the  many 


pronounced  shades,  etc.  Though  the 
second  in  importance  of  the  three  Han- 
seatic towns  of  Hamburg,  Bremen,  and 
Lubeck,  Bremen  was  the  first  to  employ 
postage  stamps.  Its  first  stamp  was 
issued  on  April  10th,  1855  and  was  pure- 
ly for  local  use.  In  1856  a  5gr  stamp 
was  issued  for  use  on  letters  to  Ham- 
burg; in  1860  a  7gr  stamp  appeared  this 
being  intended  for  prepayment  of  the 
rate  to  Lubeck  and  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin;  and  in  the  following  year  a 
5sgr  value  was  issued  for  prepayment  of 
the  ship-rate  on  letters  to  England. 
Shortly  afterwards  a  lOgr  label  made 
its  appearance,  this  being  to  prepay  the 
single  letter  rate  to  Holland.  This 
value  was  rouletted  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  new  supplies  of  the  denomina- 
tions already  referred  to  were  also 
issued  in  this  condition  instead  of  im- 
perf.  as  previously.  In  1863  a  reduction 
in  the  local  rate  made  a  2gr  stamp 
necessary  and  while  no  new  values  ap- 
peared all  were  issued  in  1867  perfo- 
rated. On  January  1st,  1868,  Bremen 
joined  the  North  German  Confedera- 
tion and  its  special  stamps  were  retired 
in  favor  of  the  set  for  general  use  with- 
in the  Confederation.  It  will  be  noted 
from  foregoing  notes  that  all  the  stamps 
of  Bremen  were  issued  for  local  use  or 
for  some  special  purpose.  What  we 
may  term  outside  correspondence  was 
forwarded  through  post-offices  estab- 
lished in  the  town  by  Hanover,  Prussia, 
and  Thurn  and  Taxis,  the  stamps  of 
those  offices  being  used. 

The  different  currencies  in  use  in 
Germany  at  that  date  must  have  caused 
considerable  confusion,  and  that  of  Bre- 
men appears  to  have  been  distinct  from 
all  the  others.  Though  the  reichsthaler, 
or  <  thaler,  was  the  standard  coin  over 
part  of  Northern  Germany,  it  was  split 
up  into  72  grote  in  Bremen,  and  into  24 
gutegroschen  of  12  pfennige  each  in 
Brunswick  and  Hanover.  Eleven  grote 
was  considered  equivalent  to  5  silber- 
groschen  of  Prussia  so  that  the  stamp  of 
lowest  denomination,  the  2  grote,  was 
worth  a  little  less  than  1  silbergroschen. 
The  reichsthaler  was  worth  about  78c  at 
that  period  so  that  1  grote  was  equiva- 
lent to  a  fraction  over  Ic. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

The  first  stamp  was  issued  on  April 
10th,  1855,  its  facial  value  being  3  grote 
and  it  was  intended  for  franking  letters 
within  the  town,  including  Bremerhaven 
and  Vegesack.  The  stamps  were  litho- 


31 


graphed  in  Bremen,  the  design  showing 
the  Arms  (a  key)  on  a  shield  sur- 
mounted by  a  crown,  with  "STADT 
POST  AMT."  (town  post  administra- 
tion) above,  and  "BREMEN"  below.  On 
each  side  of  the  shield  is  a  large  numeral 
"3",  in  shaded  figures  within  an  oval, 
richly  ornamented  with  scroll  work,  and 
in  each  of  the  angles  is  a  small  un- 
colored  "3"  on  a  solid  colored  ground. 
The  key  is  emblematic  of  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  once  free  city  for  as  Mr. 
Overy  Taylor  wrote  in  the  Stamp  Col- 
lector's Magazine  (vol.  IX  p.  164)  :  "The 
Bremen  burgesses  kept  the  key  of  their 
own  door,  instead  of  giving  it  into  the 
custody  of  some  neighbouring  potentate, 
and  knew  how  to  maintain  their  inde- 
pendence long  after  other  equally  im- 
portant towns  had  succumbed." 

The  stamps  were  printed  in  black  on 
dull  greyish-blue  paper  of  moderate 
thickness,  gummed  with  a  white  gum 
thinly  applied.  The  paper  is  laid  and 
the  laid  lines  may  be  found  running 
both  horizontally  or  vertically,  the  lat- 
ter being  a  little  the  rarer  unused  and 
much  rarer  used. 


This  3  grote  stamp  was,  as  we  have 
already  stated,  produced  by  lithography. 
Three  drawings  were  made  of  the  de- 
sign each  differing  in  small  particulars 
from  the  others.  These  three  types  ap- 
pear side  by  side  repeated  throughout 
the  sheet,  which  consisted  of  twelve  hori- 
zontal rows  of  six  stamps  each  as  fol- 
lows : — 


1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

1     2 

3 

2     3 

The  face  value  of  an  entire  sheet  was, 
therefore,  exactly  three  reichsthalers. 
There  are  a  number  of  small  differences 
distinguishing  the  three  types  but  the 
following  should  suffice  to  identify  them  : 

Type  I. — The  central  loop  of  the  orna- 
ment below  "BREMEN"  has  a  single 
line  drawn  vertically  through  it. 


Type  II. — Two  vertical  lines  are 
drawn  through  the  loop. 

Type  III. — Three  vertical  lines  now 
appear  and  the  loop  is  open  instead  of 
closed  as  in  the  other  two  types. 


All  three  types  are  found  with  and 
without  a  broken  line  under  the  inscrip- 
tion "STADT  POST  AMT."  These 
stamps,  in  common  with  all  others  issued 
subsequently  in  Bremen,  were  manufac- 
tured by  the  Hunkel  Lithographic  Com- 
pany, of  Bremen. 

Reference  List. 

1855.     Lithographed.     Laid  paper.     Imperf. 
1.     3gr  black  on  blue,   Scott's  No.   1. 


THE  SECOND  ISSUE. 

The  next  stamp  to  appear  was  the  5 
grote,  which  was  created  to  prepay  the 
single  letter  rate  to  Hamburg.  This 
value  was  issued  on  April  4th,  1856,  and 
was  also  lithographed.  The  single  let- 
ter weight  at  that  time  was  one  loth 
or  ounce  so  that  the  charge  (over  5c) 
seems  high  for  sending  a  letter  to  such 
a  nearby  city;  and  all  the  more  so  when 
it  is  considered  that  the  Thurn  and 
Taxis  office  only  charged  3  grote  for 
carrying  a  letter  from  Bremen  to 
Munich — over  six  times  the  distance. 


The  design  shows  the  Arms  on  a 
shield  in  the  centre  surmounted  by  a 
crown,  with  "France  Marke"  (frank 
stamp)  on  a  scroll  above  and  the  value 
"fiinf  Grote"  on  a  scroll  below.  On  each 
side  of  the  shield  is  a  numeral  "5"  in  an 
oval  frame,  with  scroll  ornaments.  The 
whole  is  on  a  rectangular  ground  of  zig- 
zag lines  running  horizontally,  the  rec- 
tangle having  indented  angles  in  which 
are  small  ornaments.  There  were  two 
drawings  of  the  design,  differing  in 
small  particulars,  and  the  transfers  were 
applied  to  the  lithographic  stone  in  pairs. 
The  size  of  the  sheet  is,  however,  a  mat- 
ter regarding  which  we  can  find  no  in- 
formation. The  two  types  may  be  most 


readily  distinguished  by  the  disposition 
of  the  zig-zag  lines  of  the  background. 
In  type  I  the  lines  immediately  to  the 
left  of  the  word  "fiinf"  are  V  shaped, 
and  there  are  eleven  zig-zags  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  design  with  about  half  of 


another  at  each  end.  In  type  II  the 
lines  to  the  left  of  "fiinf"  slope  down- 
wards and  there  are  exactly  11^4  zig- 
zags at  the  foot  of  the  design.  There 
are  thin  vertical  and  horizontal  dividing 
lines  between  all  the  stamps  on  a  sheet 
an4  in  each  corner,  outside  the  design, 
in  a  line  with  the  middle  of  the  three 
projections,  is  a  small  dot. 

Both  types  exist  with  the  second  word 
of  the  upper  inscription  reading  "Mar- 
ken"  but  these  varieties,  prepared  in  er- 
ror, were  never  issued.  They  are  quite 
common  for  a  large  quantity  was  in- 
cluded with  the  remainders  sold  in  1868. 
Reference  List. 

1856.     Lithographed.      Imperf. 

2.     ogr  black   on    rose,    Scott's    No.    2. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

It  was  not  until  July  10th,  1860,  that 
another  value  was  issued.  This  was  the 
7  grote  issued  for  defraying  the  rate 
of  postage  to  Lubeck  and  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin.  Correspondence  in  this  di- 
rection could  not  have  been  very  large 
for  the  7gr  used  is  a  very  scarce  variety. 
The  design  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the 
5gr  with  the  value  at  base  expressed  as 
"Sieben  Grote."  There  is  but  one  type 
of  this  value  and,  like  the  5gr,  there  are 
dividing  lines  between  the  stamps  on 
the  sheet.  A  small  mark,  evidently 
quite  accidental  in  origin  though  it  was 
at  one  time  dignified  by  the  term  "secret- 
dot,"  appears  on  all  the  genuine  stamps. 
This  is  a  small  colored  dot  which  ap- 
pears just  below  the  center  of  the  up- 
right stroke  of  the  "k"  of  "Marke." 
Reference  List. 

I860.     Lithographed.       Imperf. 

3.     7gr  black  on  yellow,   Scott's  No.  3. 


THE  FOURTH  ISSUE. 

On  December  13th,  1861,  a  stamp  of 
5sgr  was  issued  to  prepay  the  ship  rate 
to  Great  Britain.  In  design,  color,  and 
workmanship  this  is  certainly  the  best 
of  all  the  Bremen  issues.  In  the  center 
is  the  usual  key  (but  without  the  crown) 


on  an  oval  of  solid  color  with  a  richly 
ornamented  border.  The  rectangular 
frame,  which  is  also  very  ornate,  con- 
tains the  name  "BREMEN"  at  the  top, 
and  the  value  "5  Sgr"  at  the  base  be- 
tween small  circles  containing  the 


Roman  number  "V".  There  is  only  one 
type  of  this  stamp.  Why  the  value  was 
expressed  as  5  silbergroschen  instead  of 
11  grote  it  is  difficult  to  say.  The  sil- 
bergroschen was  not  a  Bremen  coin 
but  the  term  may  have  been  used  because 
this  was  the  Prussian  and  Hanoverian 
rate  to  England.  This  value  is  found  in 
several  distinct  shades  of  green  and,  un- 
used, is  commonest  on  thick  paper. 
Reference  List. 

1861.     Lithographed.      Imperf. 

4.     5sgr    green,    Scott's    Nos.    4   or   4a. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  5sgr  stamp 
was  issued  a  10  grote  stamp  was  placed 
in  circulation  for  prepayment  of  the 
single  letter  rate  to  the  Netherlands. 
This  stamp  was  lithographed  in  black  on 
white  wove  paper,  the  design  showing 
the  "key"  on  a  vertically  lined  oval  with- 
in a  double  framing,  the  inner  one  resem- 
bling engine  turned  work,  and  the  outer 
one,  containing  the  inscriptions,  being 
composed  of  lines  crossing  each  other 


diagonally,  the  frame  making  an  irregu- 
larly shaped  oval.  The  inscriptions  con- 
sist of  "BREMEN"  in  the  upper  part 
and  "ZEHN  GROTE"  in  the  lower. 
In  each  of  the  four  angles  are  the 
numerals  "10"  on  small  flat  ovals  of 
solid  color.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  in  all  genuine  specimens  there  is  an 
error  of  engraving  in  the  upper  left 
corner,  the  lines  of  the  ground  of  the 
outer  frame  extending  over  the  exterior 
white  lines  of  the  frame.  It  is  curious 
that  this  stamp  is  not  known  imperfor- 


33 


ate,  though  issued  on  the  same  day  as 
the  5sgr,  but  was  rouletted  in  the  style 
known  as  perces  en  scie,  which  made 
incisions  something  like  the  teeth  of  a 
saw  in  shape,  gauging  16.  There  was 
only  one  type  for  this  value  and  the 
stamps  had  dividing  lines  between  them 
on  the  sheet. 

Reference  List. 

1861.     Lithographed.     Perces  en  scie  16. 
5.  lOgr  black,   Scott's   No.   7. 


THE  SIXTH   ISSUE. 

In  1862  the  3gr,  5gr  and  5sgr  were  issued 
with  the  perces  en  scie  roulettes  but  the 
7gr,  for  which  there  was  only  a  small 
demand,  is  not  known  in  that  condition. 
The  3gr,  like  the  imperf.  variety  is 
found  on  laid  paper  while  the  other  two 
values  are  on  wove  paper.  The  same 
types  of  the  3gr  and  5gr  exist  for 
the  original  stones  were  used. 
Reference  List. 

1862.     Lithographed.       Wove     or     laid     (3gr) 
paper.      Perces    en    scie    16. 

6.  3gr  black  on  blue,  Scott's  No.  9. 

7.  ogr  black  on  rose,  Scott's  No.  6. 

S.     5sgr  green,  Scott's  No.  8  or  No.  8a. 


THE  SEVENTH  ISSUE. 

On  April  29th,  1863,  a  new  value,  2 
grote,  was  issued  this  being  for  the 
single  letter  rate  between  Bremen  and 
Vegesack.  The  design  shows  the 


usual  '"key"  in  the  centre  within  a 
pearled  oval  which  in  turn  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  broad  engine-turned 
oval  band.  This  band  is  inscribed 
"BREMEN"  at  top  and  "ZWEI 
GROTE"  at  foot.  The  large  oval  is 
enclosed  by  a  rectangular  frame 
inscribed  "STADT"  at  left,  "POST"  at 
top,  and  "AMT"  at  right.  In  each  of 
the  corners  the  numeral  "2"  is  shown 
on  a  small  shield  and  the  spandrels  are 
filled  with  ornamentation.  This  value 
was  lithographed  in  orange  varying  a 
good  deal  in  shade  and,  like  the  10 
grote,  was  never  issued  in  imperforate 
condition. 


Reference   List. 
1863.     Lithographed.     Wove  paper.     Perces  en 

scie  16. 
t>.     2gr  orange,  Scott's  No.  5  or  No.  5a. 


THE   EIGHTH    ISSUE. 

The  two  grote  was  the  last  stamp  to 
be  issued  and  no  further  changes  were 
made  until  1867  when  all  six  values 
were  placed  in  circulation  perforated  13, 
the  perforation  evidently  being  the  work 
of  a  single  lined  machine.  The  3gr  is 
on  laid  paper  as  before,  all  the  others 
being  on  wove.  The  dividing  lines  were 
removed  from  the  stone  of  the  7gr  and 
though  the  lines  remained  on  the  other 
values  they  did  not  always  print  dis- 
tinctly. Most  of  the  values  of  this  set 
are  considerably  rarer  used  than  unused 
for  not  only  did  they  have  a  very  short 
life,  but,  as  we  shall  show  later,  a 
number  of  remainders  came  on  the  mar- 
ket in  1868. 

Reference  List. 

1867.  Lithographed.       Wove     or     laid     (3gr) 
paper.      Perf.   13. 

10.  2gr  orange,  Scott's  No.  11  or  lla. 

11.  3gr  black  on  blue,  Scott's  No.   10. 

12.  5gr  black  on  rose,  Scott's  No.  12. 

13.  7gr  black  on  yellow,   Scott's  No.   13. 

14.  lOgr  black,   Scott's   No.   14. 

15.  5sgr  green,   Scott's  No.   15  or  No.   15a. 

At  the  end  of  1867  the  post-office  of 
Bremen  ceased  to  exist  as  a  separate 
administration,  and  from  January  1st 
1868  formed  part  of  the  North  German 
Confederation.  The  remaining  stamps 
in  stock,  comprising  a  large  quantity  of 
the  perforated  stamps,  some  of  the  5gr 
and  5sgr  imperforate,  and  a  few  lOgr 
rouletted  were  subsequently  sold.  The 
only  item  I  can  trace  bearing  on  the 
disposal  of  the  remainders  is  a  para- 

fraph     in     the     Monthly    Journal     for 
une,  1903,  viz:— 

About    the    same    date    (December, 
1868)    Mr.   Van   Rinsum,   of  Amster- 
dam,   passing    through    Bremen,    pur- 
chased   the    whole    stock    of    stamps 
there,  for  cash  down,  at  the  high  price 
of — 5  thalers !     At  least  that  is  what 
I   have  been  told.     We  may   suppose 
that  this  was  not  such  a  bad  bargain 
for  Mr.  Van  Rinsum. 
Before  concluding  this  short  sketch  of 
the    postal    issues    of    Bremen    mention 
should    be    made    of   two    labels    which 
sometimes  turn  up  in  old  collections  and 
are  apt  to  prove  puzzling  to  the  tyro. 
One  of  these  is  a  1  grote  stamp  bearing 
a   large   figure   "1"   in   the   middle   sur- 
rounded  by   rays    and   bearing  a   small 
circle  in  its  center  on  which  is  the  usual 
Bremen  "key."     Surmounting  this  is  the 
word  "Umsatzsteuer."    This  is  simply  a 


fiscal  stamp  and,  of  course,  has  no  place 
in  a  collection  of  postage  stamps. 

The  other  variety  is  circular  in  shape 
and  has  scalloped  edges.  The  design 
consists  of  three  concentric  circles  with 
the  Arms  in  the  centre  surrounded  by 
the  inscription  "STADT  POST  AMT— 
BREMEN."  It  is  printed  in  black  on 
blue  or  pink  paper.  Though  at  one 


time  considered  an  official  postage  stamp 
its  postal  use  has  never  been  proved  and 
a  writer  in  the  "Stamp  Collector's  Maga- 
zine" (vol.  IV,  p.  173)  stated  that  "the 
only  official  documents  I  find  them  on 
are  Bremen  'letter  bills/  and  even  then 
they  are  not  upon  the  covers,  but  upon 
the  'bills'  themselves.  What  their  use 
is  I  cannot  say." 


BRUNSWICK. 


Brunswick,  or  Braunschweig  to  give 
it  its  Teutonic  name,  is  a  sovereign 
duchy  of  the  German  Empire  situated 
between  Hanover,  Saxony,  and  West- 
phalia. It  has  an  area  of  1424  square 
miles  and  a  population  a  little  in  excess 
of  half  a  million.  The  duchy  has  two 
votes  in  the  Imperial  Council  and  sends 
three  representatives  to  the  Imperial 
Diet.  Originally  Brunswick  formed  a 
part  of  the  duchy  of  Saxony,  but  in 
1235  the  independent  duchy  of  Bruns- 
wick was  created.  Subsequently,  along 
with  Hanover,  Luneburg,  Celle  and 
other  territories,  it  was  transferred  and 
reconveyed  several  times  as  the  various 
Brunswick  dynasties  were  founded  and 
died  out.  The  duchy  suffered  severely 
during  the  Seven  Years  War.  It  was 
occupied  by  the  French  in  1806,  an- 
nexed to  the  kingdom  of  Westphalia  in 
the  following  year,  and  restored  to  its 
duke  in  1813.  The  direct  Guelf  line 
became  extinct  in  1884,  on  the  death 
of  the  childless  Duke  William,  and  since 
1885  the  duchy  has  been  governed  by 
a  regent. 

The  town  of  Brunswick,  capital  of 
the  duchy,  is  of  ancient  origin,  its  cath- 
edral, for  instance,  dating  from  1172. 
Here  is  found  the  tomb  of  Henry  the 
Lion,  Duke  of  Saxony,  whose  de- 
scendants created  the  independent  duchy. 

The  currency  was  the  same  as  that 
of  Hanover  being  the  reichsthaler, 
worth  about  78c,  divided  into  24  gute- 
groschen  of  12  pfennige,  or  the  thaler, 
worth  about  72c,  divided  into  30  silber- 
groschen  of  10  pfennige. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

While  its  neighbours.  Hanover  and 
Prussia,  issued  stamps  in  1850,  Bruns- 
wick did  not  follow  suit  until  January 
1st,  1852,  when  a  series  of  three  values 
was  issued.  All  three  values  are  of 
similar  design,  the  centerpiece  showing 
the  horse  of  Brunswick  galloping  to  the 
left,  with  a  ducal  coronet  above,  the 
whole  being  on  a  transverse  oval  with 


ground  of  vertical  lines.  On  each  side 
are  small  upright  uncolored  ovals  con- 
taining the  numerals  of  value,  and  above 
and  below  are  scrolls  the  upper  one 
containing  the  name,  "BRAUN- 
SCHWEIG," and  the  lower  one  the 
value,  "EIN  (ZWEI  or  DRIE)  SILB. 
GR."  The  whole  is  enclosed  within 
a  double-lined  rectangular  frame,  one 
line  being  thick  and  the  other  thin. 


The  stamps  were  designed  and  en- 
graved by  Herr  K.  Petersen,  and 
printed  bv  Herr  J.  H.  Meyer,  in  Bruns- 
wick. That  separate  dies  were  en- 
graved for  each  of  the  three  values  is 
proved  by  slight  differences  in  the  de- 
signs, especially  noticeable  in  the  num- 
ber and  arrangement  of  the  stones  be- 
low the  horse.  They  were  printed  on 
a  fairly  thick  white  wove  paper  and 
the  gum  used  was  either  reddish-brown 
or  white  with  a  brownish  tinge  similar 
to  that  used  for  the  stamps  of  Hanover. 
They  were  issued  imperforate.  Accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Ehrenbach  (London  Phi- 
latelist vol.  Ill,  p.  162)  the  stamps  were 
printed  in  sheets  of  120  arranged  in 
twelve  horizontal  rows  of  ten  each,  the 
stamps  being  about  2  mm.  apart.  Mr. 
Westoby  states  that  the  plates  were  com- 
posed of  type-metal  casts,  which  may 
account  for  the  existence  of  the  three 
"types"  of  the  Isgr  differentiated  by 
Mr.  Ehrenbach  as  follows : — 

Type  I. — With  no  dots  on  the  figures 
of  value. 

Type  II. — With  a  dot  on  the  figure 
at  right. 

Type  III. — With  a  dot  on  the  figure  at 
'left. 

Mr.  Ehrenbach  further  states  that 
there  is  an  error  of  lettering  in  type  I 


35 


with  the  word  "SILBG"  reading  "SIL. 
3."  The  stamps  were  only  in  use  about 
fourteen  months  and  unused  specimens, 
with  original  gum,  are  among  the  rarest 
of  German  stamps.  Indeed,  many  au- 
thorities consider  the  Isgr  unused  as 
the  rarest  European  stamp. 

When  the  stamps  were  first  placed 
on  sale  considerable  interest  was  evinced 
in  their  issue  by  the  public.  It  is  said 
that  a  huge  crowd  awaited  the  opening 
of  the  chief  post-office  in  the  town  of 
Brunswick.  At  first  only  strips  of  ten 
stamps  were  sold  to  purchasers  but  this 
order  was  rescinded  in  1853.  Unfor- 
tunately no  official  documents  are 
known  to  exist  having  any  bearing  on 
the  history  of  these  stamps  as  one  of 
the  Postmasters-General,  who  had  a 
terrible  aversion  to  the  accumulation 
of  papers  and  records,  had  ordered 
everything  to  be  burned. 

Reference  List. 
1852.     Typographed.     Imperf. 

1.  Isgr  rose,  Scott's  No.  1. 

2.  2sgr  blue,  Scott's  No.  2. 

3.  3sgr  vermilion.  Scott's  No.  3. 


shade  as  there  were  several  printings 
during  the  period  the  stamps  were  cur- 
rent. 

Reference  List. 

1853.  Typographed.    Wmk.    Posthorn.    Imperf. 

4.  ISPT  black  on  orange,  Scott's  Nos.  4  or  5. 

5.  2sgr  black  on  blue,   Scott's  No.  6. 

6.  3sgr  black  on  rose,  Scott's  No.  7. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

Two  low  values  were  added  to  the 
series  on  March  1st,  1856,  3  pfennig^ 
54ggr,  and4pfennig=%ggr.  The  former 
had  "54"  in  the  ovals  at  the  sides  and 
"DRIE  PFENNIG"  in  the  scroll  below ; 
while  the  latter  had  "%"  in  the  ovals 
and  was  inscribed  "VIER  SILBR.  GR." 
These  stamps  were  also  printed  on  the 
watermarked  paper  the  %sgr  being  on 
brown,  and  the  %sgr  on  white. 

Reference  List. 
1856.     Typographed.     Wmk.  Posthorn.    Imperf. 

7.  lAggr  (3pf)  black  on  brown,  Scott's  No.  8. 

8.  Xggr  (4pf)  black,  Scott's  No.  9. 


THE  SECOND  ISSUE. 

On  March  1st,  1853,  the  stamps  ap- 
peared printed  in  black  on  colored  paper, 
the  Isgr  being  on  yellow,  the  2sgr  on 
blue,  and  the  3sgr  on  rose.  The  stamps 
of  the  first  issue  were  not  called  in  or 
demonetised  and  this  fact  probably  ac- 
counts for  the  scarcity  of  unused  speci- 
mens. The  paper  employed  for  the  sec- 
ond issue  was  hand-made,  of  coarse 
texture,  and  was  watermarked.  The 
watermark  consisted  of  a  posthorn, 
turned  to  the  left,  within  a  rectangular 


frame  though  occasionally,  owing  to  the 
paper  being  inserted  wrong  way  into 
the  printing  press,  the  device  may  be 
found  turned  to  the  right.  Every  post- 
horn of  the  120  contained  in  a  sheet 
differs  in  size  and  shape  from  the  others 
the  "bits"  for  the  dandy-roll  having 
been  made  by  hand.  Mr.  Meyer  was 
again  entrusted  with  the  printing  of  the 
stamps,  under  the  control  of  the  ad- 
ministration, and  Mr.  Westoby  tells  us 
he  used  an  ordinary  printing  press  for 
the  purpose.  The  paper  varies  in 


THE   FOURTH    ISSUE. 

The  54ggr  was  only  in  use  for  eleven 
months  (the  total  quantity  printed  being 
271,040)  when  it  was  replaced  by  a  new 
stamp  of  unusual  design.  This  was  a 
large  stamp,  24  mm.  square,  capable  of 
being  divided  into  four,  each  of  the 
divisions  representing  3  pfennig,  and 
the  entire  stamp  being  equivalent  to  1 
gutegroschen.  The  central  portion  of 
the  stamp  was  divided  into  four  squares 
each  containing  a  transverse  oval  in- 
scribed "54"  surmounted  by  a  crown 
with  "Gutegr."  below.  Above  the  up- 
per quarters  and  below  the  lower  ones 
is  "Postmarke,"  and  at  the  side  of 
each  square  is  "3  Pfennige"  in  italic 
type.  The  whole  is  enclosed  by  a  thick 
single-lined  frame.  This,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note,  is  the  only  Brunswick 
stamp  failing  to  show  the  galloping 
horse.  The  stamps  were  printed  in 
black  on  brown  watermarked  paper  but 
as  the  paper  was  intended  for  stamps 
of  smaller  size  the  posthorns  appear 
very  irregularly.  The  stamps  were 
printed  in  sheets  of  100  in  ten  rows 
of  ten. 

A  large  quantity  of  this  value  was 
printed  in  brown  on  white  paper  in  1866 
but  for  some  reason  or  other  they  were 
never  issued.  The  variety  is  quite  com- 
mon, however,  for  the  entire  lot  was 
sold  with  the  remainders  in  1868,  when 
the  post-office  of  Brunswick  was  ab- 
sorbed by  that  of  the  North  German 
Confederation. 


36 


Reference  List. 

1857.     Typographed.     Wmk.  Posthorn.    Imperf. 
0.     4/4ggr  black  on  brown,  Scott's  No.  10. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

The  3sgr  resumed  its  original  color 
of  rose  on  white  paper  in  September, 
1862,  though,  as  the  watermarked  paper 
was  used,  it  cannot  be  confused  with 
the  rare  stamp  of  1852. 

On  January  1st,  1863,  another  value 
was  added  to  the  series  by  the  issue  of 
a  stamp  of  ^sgr,  printed  in  black  _on 
green  watermarked  paper.  The  design 
is  similar  to  that  of  the  other  values 
but  the  value  in  numerals  on  the  small 
ovals  at  the  sides  is  in  uncolored  figures 
on  a  ground  of  solid  color.  The  value 
in  words  on  the  lower  scroll  is  expressed 
as  "FUNF  PFENNIG." 

Reference   List. 
1862-63.  Typographed.  Wmk.  Posthorn.  Imperf. 

10.     J^sgr  black  on  green,  Scott's  No.  11. 
sgr  rose,  Scott's  No.  12. 


11. 


THE   SIXTH    ISSUE. 

Up  to  1864  none  of  the  stamps  had 
been  issued  other  than  imperforate ;  but 
in  July  of  that  year  the  Isgr  was  changed 
in  color,  being  printed  in  yellow  on 
white  paper,  and  the  opportunity  was 
taken  of  experimenting  with  a  roulette. 
The  rouletting  was  done  in  line  and 
had  a  gauge  of  12.  Whether  the  cuts 
were  made  by  a  rouletting  wheel  or  on 
the  printing  press  with  ordinary  notched 
rule  does  not  appear  to  be  known.  The 
roulette  is  always  very  indistinct  owing 
to  the  thickness  of  the  paper.  It  was 
not  particularly  satisfactory  and  in  the 
following  month  other  stamps  appeared 
with  the  rouletted  cuts  arranged  in  a 
series  of  short  curves  giving  a  scallop 
effect  to  the  edges  of  severed  stamps. 
This  is  the  style  known  as  perces  en  arc 
and  it  had  a  gauge  of  16^2  to  17^2.  This 
rouletting,  Mr.  Westoby  tells  us,  was 
done  by  the  printer,  Meyer,  in  the  press 
by  means  of  thin  brass  printer's  rule. 
The  %ggr  black  on  white,  J^sgr  black 
on  green,  Isgr  black  on  yellow,  Isgr 
yellow  on  white,  2sgr  black  on  blue,  and 


3sgr  rose  on  white  were  all  issued  with 
this  roulette,  some  of  them  being  ex- 
tremely rare.  The  ^2  sgr  black  on  green, 
Isgr  black  on  yellow,  and  3sgr  rose  on 
white  are  also  known  rouletted  in  line 
but  there  seems  considerable  doubt  as 
to  whether  these  varieties  were  issued 
officially.  The  ^£sgr  is  also  known  perf. 
12  but  this  is  known  to  be  an  unofficial 
production.  To  a  note  regarding  this 
Mr.  Westoby  adds  "nor  is  there  any 
doubt  that  some  rouletted  specimens 
have  been  manufactured  by  the  purvey- 
ors of  varieties." 

In  the  list  below  we  only  include  those 
varieties  regarding  which  there  are  no 
doubts  as  to  their  official  origin. 

Reference  List. 

1864.     Wmk.       Posthorn.     Rouletted  12. 
12.     Isgr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  19. 
Perces  en  arc  16*4   to  1754. 
i^ggr  black,  Scott's  No.  13. 
J^sgr  black  on  green,  Scott's  No.  14.  _ 
Isgr  black  on  yellow,  Scott's   No.   15. 
Isgr  yellow,   Scott's   No.   17. 
2sgr  black  on  blue,   Scott's   No.    16. 
3sgr  rose,  Scott's  No.  18. 


13. 
14. 
15. 
16. 

17. 
18. 


THE  SEVENTH  ISSUE. 

In  October,  1865,  stamps  of  a  new  de- 
sign were  introduced.  The  colors  were 
also  changed  so  as  to  make  them  more 
in  conformity  with  those  adopted  by 
the  Thurn  and  Taxis  post-office  and  the 
German  States.  The  dies,  which  were 
engraved  on  steel  at  Berlin,  were  com- 
mon to  adhesives  and  a  series  of  enve- 
lopes. The  design  consists  of  the  usual 
galloping  horse  surmounted  by  a  ducal 
crown,  this  being  in  white  on  an  oval 
of  solid  color.  Around  this  is  an  oval 
band  on  which  the  name  "BRAUN- 
SCHWEIG" appears  at  the  top  and 
"GROSCHEN"  at  the  base  on  an  en- 
gine-turned ground.  In  the  center  of 
the  band  at  each  side  of  the  horse  is  a 
disc  for  the  numerals  of  value.  Four 
values  were  issued,  %gr,  Igr,  2gr  and 
Sgr  all  being  embossed  in  color  on 
plain  white  wove  machine  made  paper. 
They  were  rouletted  perces  en  arc  like 
the  set  they  superseded.  The  stamps 
were  printed  in  sheets  of  100  arranged 
in  ten  rows  of  ten. 

Mr.  Westoby  gives  an  excellent  ac- 
count of  the  method  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  these  stamps  and  other 
embossed  stamps  of  a  similar  nature  is- 
sued about  the  same  time  for  Lubeck, 
Prussia,  and  Oldenburg  viz : — 

The  matrix  dies  were,  with  scarcely 
any  exception,  engraved  by  Schilling, 
the  engraver  to  the  Irrlperial  Printing 
Works.  The  central  design  alone  was 
first  engraved  on  a  block  of  steel  in 


intaglio,  from  which  a  mechanical 
workman  made  a  punch  in  steel;  and 
if  four  values  were  required,  he,  with 
the  aid  of  the  punch,  sank  the  central 
design  on  four  steel  dies,  on  which 
the  engraver  subsequently  added  the 
border  and  the  proper  inscriptions. 
Were  envelopes  alone  wanted,  the  pro- 
cess was  complete;  but  when  adhesive 
stamps  were  required  a  further  process 
was  necessary,  as  plates  had  to  be 
constructed.  The  embossed  adhesive 
stamps  were  generally  printed  in 
sheets  of  100  or  150,  arranged  in 
rows  of  ten.  Fifty  rectangular  im- 
pressions in  lead  of  the  size  of  the 
stamp  were  struck  from  each  die  in  a 
fly-press,  and  these  were  clamped  to- 
gether in  a  chase  in  five  rows  of  ten. 
From  each  of  these,  two  or  three 
electrotypes  were  made,  which  formed 
the  printing  plate  of  100  or  150  stamps. 
The  vertical  and  horizontal  rows  were 
numbered  consecutively  in  each  mar- 
gin in  movable  type  figures,  and  the 
plate  was  ready  for  printing.  The 
process  appears  complicated,  but  it 
was  not  a  very  expensive  one  where 
the  stamps  were  not  required  in  large 
quantities. 

Proofs  of  the  new  stamps  were  dis- 
tributed in  January,  1865,  and  it  was 
stated  they  would  be  ready  for  issue 
on  April  1st,  but,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  they  did  not  actually  appear  until 
October. 


There  are  several  shades  of  all  ex- 
cept the  lowest  value,  and  all  are  known 
imperforate.  These  were  never  issued 
but  are  from  sheets  which  were  found 
among  the  remainders. 


Reference  List. 


1865. 


No   wmk.      Perces   en   arc 


19. 
20. 
21. 
22. 


Embossed. 

16^  to  17%. 

H&r  black,    Scott's   No.   20. 
Igr  rose,  Scott's  No.  21. 
2gr  blue,  Scott's  No.  22. 
3gr  bistre,   Scott's  No.  23. 

At  the  end  of  1867  the  postal  adminis- 
tration of  Brunswick  was  merged  in 
that  of  the  North  German  Confederation 
and  ceased  to  exist  as  an  independent 
establishment  after  December  31st,  1867. 

The  remainders  of  the  1865  issue  were 
sold  in  1868.  They  were  not  offered  in 
one  lot  but  could  be  purchased  by  the 
100  sheets  at  about  2  thalers  by  anyone 
interested.  As  a  matter  of  fact  most  of 
them  were  purchased  by  one  man,  a  Ger- 
man dealer,  and  that  there  must  have 
been  a  large  stock  of  some  values  is  ob- 
vious from  the  low  prices  at  which  they 
are  priced  in  present  day  catalogues. 


HAMBURG. 


Hamburg,  a  seaport  town  in  Ger- 
many, is  the  capital  of  the  independent 
state  of  the  same  name  and  the  most 
important  seaport  on  the  continent  of 
Europe.  It  is  situated  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  river  Elbe,  75  miles  above 
its  outflow  into  the  North  Sea,  and  it 
is  178  miles  by  rail  from  Berlin. 

On  the  site  now  occupied  by  this  im- 
portant city  there  were  but  a  few 
scattered  fishermen's  cottages  before  the 
time  of  Charlemagne.  Then  a  few 
merchants  settled  in  the  vicinity  and  by 
808  the  place  had  attained  sufficient  im- 
portance for  Charlemagne  to  erect  a 
fortified  castle  to  protect  his  subjects 
from  the  depredations  of  the  Normans 
and  Danes.  This  castle,  or  "burg," 
took  its  name  from  the  neighbouring 
forest  of  Hamme,  and  the  original 
spelling  of  Hammeburg  was,  later,  cor- 
rupted to  Hamburg.  About  the  middle 
of  the  ninth  century  the  town,  under 
Archbishop  Ansgar,  became  the  dis- 
seminator of  Christianity  throughout 


northern  Europe.  After  frequent  pil- 
lages and  burnings  from  Northmen, 
Danes,  and  Slavs  the  town  began  to  be 
frequented  as  a  trade  centre  and  by 
the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  it  was 
not  only  prosperous  but,  though  under 
the  domination  of  the  Duke  of  Hoi- 
stein,  practically  independent.  Towards 
the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century 
Hamburg  was  united  to  Bremen  (to 
which  the  archiepiscopal  see  was  trans- 
ferred in  1223)  and  Lubeck  in  the 
formation  of  the  Hanseatic  league. 
This  league  or  Hansa  (from  the  old 
Teutonic  word  Aan.fitt=partnership) 
was  an  association  of  trading  towns 
which  had  considerable  political  power 
until  the  sixteenth  century.  Most  of 
the  important  seaports  from  London  to 
Novgorod,  in  Russia,  belonged  to  the 
league  and  their  ships  carried  one  com- 
mon flag — that  of  the  Hansa.  In  1619 
the  Bank  of  Hamburg  was  founded  and 
this  imparted  an  enormous  impulse  to 
its  commercial  importance,  and  about 


the  same  time  a  number  of  English 
merchant  adventurers  and  numerous 
Jews  expelled  from  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal settled  in  the  town.  In  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century  it  ex- 
perienced hard  times  being  occupied  by 
the  Danes  in  1801  and  by  the  French  in 
1806.  The  latter,  under  Devout,  treated 
the  inhabitants  very  harshly  and  also 
seized  the  treasure  of  the  Bank  amount- 
ing to  about  seven  million  marks.  A 
return  to  its  old  prosperity  began  with 
the  fall  of  Napoleon  and  even  the  de- 
structive fire  of  1842,  which  burned 
nearly  half  the  town,  failed  to  have 
any  serious  drawback  on  its  progress. 
In  consequence  of  this  disastrous  fire 
Hamburg  is  a  very  modern  town  in 
appearance  and  most  of  its  important 
public  buildings  and  institutions  date 
only  from  1842.  Among  the  more  note- 
worthy of  these  are  the  churches  of 
St.  Michael,  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Nicholas, 
the  town  hall,  marine  office  or  See- 
u'arte,  the  museums  of  fine  art,  arts 
and  crafts,  botany,  and  natural  history, 
the  commercial  and  municipal  libraries 
(the  latter  of  considerable  value),  the 
hygenic  institute,  and  a  fine  hospital. 

Hamburg  occupies  a  distinguished 
place  in  the  history  of  German  litera- 
ture and  drama,  having  been  the  home 
of  Lessing,  Heine,  Hageborn,  Klop- 
stock,  Voss,  Reimarus,  Claudius,  and 
Schroeder. 

During  the  last  century  its  popula- 
tion has  increased  tenfold.  from 
106,983  in  1811  to  over  a  million  at  the 
present  time — it  is  thus  the  second 
largest  city  in  the  German  Empire. 

During  the  second  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  Hamburg's  trade  de- 
veloped in  an  extraordinary  manner, 
this  increasing  from  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty  million  dollars  in  1851  to  over 
twelve  hundred  million  dollars  in  1904. 
But  this  only  represented  its  sea  trade 
and  in  addition  its  rail  and  river  borne 
trade  with  the  interior  of  Germany  in- 
creased to  a  proportionate  extent  dur- 
ing the  same  period.  As  further 
evidence  of  its  prosperity  we  find  that 
while  in  1871  it  owned  448  seagoing 
vessels  with  an  aggregate  tonnage  of 
214,280,  in  1904  the  port  possessed  1009 
seagoing  vessels  with  a  total  tonnage  of 
1,256,640.  It  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
famous  Hamburg-American  line  which 
owns  one  of  the  finest  fleets  of  pas- 
senger steamships  in  the  world. 

The  greater  part  of  the  harbour  con- 
stitutes a  free  port,  which  was  con- 
structed in  1883-8  at  an  approximate 
cost  of  thirty-five  million  dollars.  Its 
total  area  is  2570  acres,  of  which  1750 
acres  are  land  surface.  The  port  is 


one  of  the  chief  points  of  embarkation 
for  emigrants  from  the  middle  and  east 
of  Europe,  the  greater  number  of  which 
proceed  to  the  United  States. 

The  industry  of  Hamburg  is  a.  long 
way  inferior  to  its  commerce,  yet  the 
town  possesses  large  tobacco,  chemical, 
india-rubber,  and  furniture  factories, 
engineering  works,  shipbuilding  yards, 
printing  offices,  breweries,  distilleries, 
etc. 

The  State  of  Hamburg  has  an  area  of 
160  square  miles  and  a  population  just 
about  equalling  that  of  its  capital,  i.  e. 
900,000.  Over  ninety  per  cent,  of  its  in- 
habitants are  Evangelical  Protestants. 
The  State  retains  its  ancient  independ- 
ence, the  legislative  power  being  vested 
in  a  Senate  of  eighteen  members  and  a 
House  of  Burgesses  numbering  160 
members.  The  executive  power  is  almost 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Senate. 
The  State  has  one  vote  in  the  Federal 
Council  of  the  Empire  and  sends  three 
members  to  the  Imperial  Diet. 


ITS  PHILATELIC  HISTORY. 

Of  the  three  Free  and  Hanseatic 
towns  Bremen  was  the  first  to  issue 
postage  stamps,  its  first  labels  being  on 
sale  in  1855,  and  it  was  not  until  Janu- 
ary 1st,  1859,  that  Hamburg  and  Lubeck 
joined  the  ranks  of  stamp  issuing  towns 
and  states.  The  stamps  of  Hamburg 
had  a  somewhat  restricted  use,  being 
only  used  on  local  letters  for  the  city 
and  its  suburbs,  and  for  franking  cor- 
respondence to  the  neighbouring  states 
and  to  the  Netherlands,  while  they  were 
also  available  on  "ship-letters"  sent  to 
Great  Britain.  This  seeming  reluctance 
to  issue  postage  stamps,  considering  the 
commercial  importance  of  the  port,  was 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  Thurn  and 
Taxis,  Prussia,  Denmark,  Sweden  and 
Norway,  Hanover  and  Mecklenburg,  all 
had  offices  in  the  city  and  it  was  through 
these  that  the  general  continental  letters 
were  forwarded.  The  Thurn  and  Taxis 
office  seems  to  have  had  the  major  por- 
tion of  the  postal  trade  and  practically 
all  foreign  letters  went  through  this 
agency.  The  first  set  of  stamps  con- 
sisted of  seven  values — ^,  1,  2,  3,  4,  7 
and  9  schilling — and  in  1864  these  were 
augmented  by  the  addition  of  1*4  and 
2^sch  stamps,  all  of  these  being  im- 
perforate.  In  September,  1864,  several 
of  the  values  appeared  perforated  and 
by  April  of  the  following  year  all  had 
been  issued  in  this  condition.  In  Feb- 
ruary, 1865,  the  color  of  the  7sch  was 
changed  from  orange  to  lilac,  pre- 
sumably to  prevent  confusion  with  the 


9sch.  In  1866  a  l^sch  stamp  was 
issued,  and  at  the  same  time  the  design 
of  the  IJ^sch  label  was  altered.  The 
North  German  Confederation  came  into 
being  on  January  1st,  1868,  and  Ham- 
burg, having  joined  this,  ceased  to  issue 
its  own  distinctive  stamps. 

The  currency  was  in  marks  and 
schillings,  a  Hamburg  mark,  equal  to 
about  28c,  being  divided  into  16  schil- 
ling, and  this  continued  until  the  unifi- 
cation of  German  currency  in  1875 — i.  e., 
seven  years  after  Hamburg's  stamps  had 
been  superseded. 

For    a    proper    appreciation    of    these 
stamps  a  knowledge  of  the  postal  tariffs 
obtaining   at   the   time   of   their   use   is 
necessary,    and    in    this    connection    the 
following     extract     from     Mr.     R.     R. 
Thiele's  excellent  article,  "The  Why  and 
Wherefore  of  Various   Stamps,"  which 
appeared   in   the   Philatelic   Record   for 
July,  1906,  is  particularly  interesting: — 
The  l/2  schilling  stamp  was  intended 
to  cover  the   rate   on  printed  matter 
per  lot    (=  ounce)    to  Ritzebuttel    (a 
suburb  of  Hamburg),  to  Bremen,  Lu- 
beck,  and  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Olden- 
burg.   The  1  schilling  was  the  letter 
rate  on  local  letters  and  to  Bergedorf, 
also   the    rate   on   printed   matter   to 
Heligoland,   to   the   Netherlands,   and 
to  Great  Britain.    The  2  schilling  was 
for  the  single  letter  rate  to  the  out- 
lying towns  on  Hamburg  territory,  to 
the  Vierlande,  to  Ritzebuttel  and  Lu- 
beck.    The    3    schilling   was    intended 
for  single  letters  to  Bremen  and  the 
larger  part  of   Oldenburg,   while  the 
4  schilling  covered  the  letter  rate  to 
Heligoland   and   to   certain   towns   in 
Oldenburg.    The   7    schilling,   orange, 
was  for  letters  to  the  larger  part  of 
the   Netherlands,   and   after   July   1st, 
1859,    to    Great    Britain    and    Ireland. 
The    9    schilling    at    first    served    the 
letter  rate  to  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land;  after  the   reduction  to   7sch   it 
served    in    combinations    for    various 
foreign  rates. 

The  Danish  war  brought  the  issue 
of  a  new  value.  The  Danish  post 
office  at  Hamburg  had  always  handled 
the  correspondence  to  Schleswig- 
Hplstein.  When  the  war  broke  out, 
this  office  was  cut  off  from  the  mother 
country  and  the  Hamburg  authorities 
took  charge  of  it.  The  Danish  rate 
to  Schleswig-Holstein  was  4  skilling ; 
for  a  few  days  after  February  21st, 
1864,  the  date  of  taking  possession, 
the  office  continued  to  use  the  Danish 
stamps  of  that  value.  But  new  stamps 
of  the  value  of  1%  schilling  courant, 
the  equivalent  of  4  skilling  Danish, 
were  ordered  immediately  and  issued 


for  the  first  time  on  February  29th. 
This  value,  then,  served  for  the  letter 
rate  to  Schleswig-Holstein  and  to 
Denmark.  Denmark  immediately  re- 
taliated by  raising  the  letter  rate  from 
Denmark  to  Hamburg  to  8  skilling ; 
Hamburg  followed  suit  by  issuing  the 
2l/2  schilling,  green,  on  April  2nd, 

1864,  to  serve  the  letter  rate  to  Den- 
mark, 2l/2  schilling  courant  equaling  8 
rigsbankskilling ;   the   rate   to    Schles- 
wig-Holstein remained  at  1^4  schilling, 
but  the  rate  to  Altona  was  lowered  to 
l/2   schilling  on    September   7th,   1864, 
and   the    l/2   schilling   also   served   on 
printed   matter  to  the   Duchies   from 
March    1st,    1865.     On    January    1st, 

1865,  the   rate   on   letters   within   the 
city  of  Hamburg  was  reduced  to   l/2 
schilling,  so  that  the  l/2  schilling  in  its 
perforated  state  is  comparatively  com- 
mon.   This  is  also  the  reason  why  the 
North    German    Confederation    after- 
wards issued  a  special  stamp  of  the 
value   of    l/2    schilling    for    Hamburg. 
The  l/2  schilling  rate  was  extended  to 
the  adjacent  territory  on  March   1st, 

1866,  and  to  Bergedorf  and  the  Vier- 
lande on  June  15th,  1866. 

From  January  1st,  1865,  all  the 
stamps  of  Hamburg  served  a  large 
variety  of  foreign  rates,  as  on  that 
date  an  arrangement  went  into  effect 
whereby  all  letters  within  Hamburg, 
no  matter  for  what  office  they  were 
intended,  were  collected  from  all  let- 
ter-boxes by  the  municipal  post  office 
and  then  turned  over  to  the  foreign 
offices.  All  such  letters  dropped  into 
the  boxes  would  be  prepaid  either  by 
the  respective  foreign  stamps  or  by 
Hamburg  stamps:  in  the  latter  case 
the  postoffices  made  settlement  with 
each  other  on  the  basis  of  the  for- 
eign rates.  The  municipal  post  office 
in  some  cases  made  a  little  profit 
here,  as  its  stamps  did  not  always 
correspond  to  the  foreign  rates,  and  in 
such  cases  the  next  higher  stamp  had 
to  be  used.  For  instance,  the  1 
silbergroschen  rate  to  the  German- 
Austrian  Postal  Union  corresponded 
to  1  1/3  schilling  courant;  as  there 
was  no  such  stamp,  1^  schilling's 
worth  of  stamps  had  to  be  affixed. 
The  2  silbergroschen  rate  answered  to 
22/3  schilling  courant;  for  this  a  3 
schilling  stamp  had  to  be  used,  the 
municipal  post  office  pocketing  the 
difference.  The  4  schilling  stamp,  of 
course,  exactly  corresponded  to  the  3 
silbergroschen  rate. 

About  this  time  some  changes  in 
rates  took  place.  The  money-order 
system  was  introduced  on  March  1st, 
1866,  and  the  2  schilling  stamp  was 


40 


thereafter  also  used  for  money  orders 
to  Schleswig-Holstein  up  to  62  mark 
courant.  From  May  14th,  1866,  the 
same  stamp  was  permitted  to  be  used 
for  the  registration  fee  for  Hamburg 
and  territory,  which  theretofore  was 
paid  in  cash;  for  July  1st,  1866,  the 
letter  rate  to  Heligoland  was  lowered 
to  2  schilling.  The  3  schilling  stamp 
.  .  .  was  used  from  July  1st,  186G, 
for  the  registration  fee  to  Heligoland 
and  from  November  1st,  1866,  for  the 
registration  fee  to  the  Netherlands. 
On  November  1st,  1866,  the  letter  rate 
to  the  entire  Netherlands  was  reduced 
to  4  schilling. 

The  letter  rate  to  Lubeck  was  re- 
duced to  1^  schilling  on  October  1st, 
1865,  and  the  printed  matter  rate  to 
the  Netherlands  to  the  same  on  July 
1st,  1865 ;  hence  a  stamp  of  that  value 
became  desirable,  and  was  issued  on 
April  1st,  1866. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

The  first  postage  stamps  for  Hamburg 
were  placed  on  sale  on  January  1st,  1859, 
the  set  consisting  of  seven  different  val- 
ues. The  design,  which  is  the  same  for 
all  denominations,  consisted  of  the  Arms 
of  Hamburg,  partially  covered  by  large 
open  numerals  denoting  the  value,  as  a 
centerpiece.  The  Arms  are  composed 
of  a  castle  with  three  towers,  the  cen- 
tral one  being  surmounted  by  a  dome 
and  the  others  by  battlements.  Above 
the  middle  tower  is  a  cross,  while  large 
stars  are  shown  above  the  side  turrets. 
On  a  ribbon  scroll  at  the  top  is  "HAM- 
BURG," and  on  a  similar  scroll  at  the 
base  is  "POSTMARKE,"  i.  e.  "post 
stamp."  On  the  left,  reading  upwards, 
the  value  is  shown  in  words,  and  on  the 
right  "Schilling"  appears.  As  the  in- 
scriptions on  the  left  hand  side  varied  in 
length,  according  to  the  value  which  had 
to  be  expressed,  small  ornaments  were 
introduced  to  fill  the  vacant  spaces  be- 
fore and  after  the  shorter  words. 


There  was  a  separate  die  for  each 
value,  and  these  were  engraved  by  a 
gentleman  rejoicing  in  the  euphonious 


name  of  Johann  Friedrich  Rex  Ziesen- 
ist.  He  may  also  have  been  responsible 
for  the  design  but  regarding  this  there 
appears  to  be  no  record.  From  each  die 
ninety-six  casts  were  taken  in  ordinary 
type  metal,  and  these,  arranged  in 
twelve  horizontal  rows  of  eight,  formed 
the  printing  plates.  There  was  a  space 
of  3^2  mm.  between  the  vertical  rows 
and  of  1^  mm.  between  the  horizontal 
rows.  A  line  of  printer's  rule  was 
inserted  between  each  of  the  vertical 
rows,  and  as  these  were  the  same  height 
as  the  cliches  they  show  at  the  sides  of 
the  stamps.  Each  horizontal  row  was 
numbered  in  the  margin  at  each  end,  and 
at  the  top  of  each  sheet  the  inscription 
"Hamburgische  Postmarken"  were 
shown.  The  plates  were  made  and  the 
stamps  printed  by  Th.  G.  Meissner, 
printer  to  the  State  of  Hamburg. 

Whether  by  accident  or  design  we 
cannot  say  but  on  all  stamps  engraved 
by  Ziesenist  there  are  so-called  "secret 
marks."  As  these  are  of  considerable 
value  in  distinguishing  originals  from 
the  many  forgeries  that  exist,  we  give  a 
list  of  these  as  follows: — 

Y-2.  schilling. — There  is  a  small  dash  in 
the  space  between  the  base  of  the  right 
hand  tower  and  the  line  above  "Schil- 
ling." 

i  schilling. — The  serif  at  the  foot  of 
the  "T"  of  "POSTMARKE"  ends  with 
a  dot  at  the  left  hand  side. 

<?  schilling. — There  is  a  tiny  dot  under 
the  first  "1"  of  "Schilling,"  and,  in  clear- 
ly printed  specimens,  a  small  dash  above 
the  "ng"  of  the  same  word. 

j  schilling. — There  is  a  dot  on  the  left 
side  of  the  "H"  of  "HAMBURG"  near 
the  top  of  the  letter,  and,  in  most  cases, 
another  dot  is  shown  under  the  "r"  of 
"Drie." 

4  schilling. — There  is  a  dot  between 
the  letters  "Sc"  of  "Schilling" 

/  schilling. — There  is  a  dot  in  the 
space  at  the  right  of  the  Arms  opposite 
the  top  of  the  "S"  of  "Schilling." 

9  schilling. — There  is  a  tiny  dot  after 
the  "P"  of  "POSTMARKE"  level  with 
the  bottom  of  that  letter. 

In  an  article  by  M.  Georges  Brunei, 
translated  in  the  Postage  Stamp,  Vol. 
VIII,  numerous  other  little  peculiarities 
are  detailed  but  as  most  of  these  only 
show  on  certain  stamps  they  evidently 
did  not  appear  on  the  original  die  but 
were  caused  in  making  the  type-metal 
casts. 

The  stamps  were  all  printed  on  white 
wove  paper,  each  sheet  being  water- 
marked with  twelve  horizontal  undula- 
ting lines  (each  undulation  being  about 


41 


15  mm.  deep)  bounded  by  a  single  line 
frame.  It  was  intended  that  these  lines 
should  correspond  with  the  twelve  rows 
of  stamps,  but  owing  to  some  sheets  not 
being  carefully  "fed"  into  the  printing 
press  an  outside  row  was  occasionally 
printed  on  the  plain  portion  of  the  paper, 
and  these  stamps  were  thus  entirely 
without  watermark.  Other  varieties, 
caused  by  irregular  feeding  of  the  paper, 
show  vertical  line  watermark. 


The  stamps  of  this  issue  were  not 
perforated,  and  they  were  gummed  with 
a  brown  gum  which  gives  some  speci- 
mens the  appearance  of  having  been 
printed  on  toned  paper.  The  remainders 
of  these  stamps  were  all  without  gum, 
the  issued  stamps,  with  the  original 
brown  gum,  being  at  least  twice  as 
scarce  as  the  remainders.  With  the 
solitary  exception  of  the  7sch  the 
stamps  are  all  rarer  used  than  unused. 
Fairly  distinct  shades  of  the  4,  7,  and 
9sch  may  be  found  but  the  others  differ 
hardly  at  all. 

Reference  List. 

1st,      1859.     Watermarked 

lines.     Imperf. 
^sch   black,    Scott's    No.    1. 
Isch  brown,   Scott's  No.  2. 
2sch  red,   Scott's  No.  5. 
3sch   blue,    Scott's    No.   9. 
4sch   green,    Scott's    No.    10. 
7sch   orange,    Scott's    No.    11. 


Jan. 


undulating 


9sch  yellow,   Scott's   No.   32. 


THE  SECOND  ISSUE. 

In  1864,  Hamburg  occupied  the  Dan- 
ish post-office  in  that  city,  owing  to  the 
war  between  Prussia  and  Austria  and 
Denmark,  as  explained  in  our  introduc- 
tory notes,  and  a  stamp  of  l^sch  was 
wanted  immediately.  This  was  issued 
on  February  29th  but  while  it  was  being 
prepared  the  ^sch  was  bisected  and 
the  halves  used  in  making  up  the  l^sch 
rate.  Though  no  decree  seems  to  have 
been  issued  authorising  this  bisection 
the  authorities  appear  to  have  permitted 
it  and  undoubtedly  bona-fide  "splits"- 
used  on  original  covers  are  known.  A 
month  after  the  issue  of  the 


label  the  retaliatory  tactics  pursued  by 
Hamburg  and  Denmark  resulted  in  the 
issue  of  a  2^sch  stamp.  Both  of  these 
values  were  produced  by  lithography, 
presumably  owing  to  the  fact  that  they 
were  wanted  in  a  hurry. 

The  central  design  on  the  1%  sch  is 
very  similar  to  that  of  the  series  of  1859 
but  with  a  netted  background.  The 
name  "HAMBURG"  is  arched  at  the 
top.  "POSTMARKS"  is  on  a  straight 
label  which  extends  right  across  the 
foot  of  the  stamp  and  the  value  is 
shown  in  words  on  the  side  tablets. 
In  each  of  the  upper  angles  an  uncol- 
ored*  Maltese  cross  is  shown  on  a 
ground  of  solid  color. 


There  was  a  space  of  3  mm.  between 
the  stamps  of  both  the  vertical  and 
horizontal  rows,  and  lines  were  ruled  in 
these  in  both  directions  corresponding 
with  the  vertical  lines  appearing  in  the 
preceding  series.  There  were  no  fig- 
ures at  the  ends  of  the  horizontal  rows 
and  no  marginal  inscription  was  shown 
at  the  top  of  the  sheet.  According  to 
the  late  Mr.  W.  A.  S.  Westoby  "it 
would  seem  that  later  on  in  the  same 
year  another  transfer  was  made,  as  the 
stamps  are  found  closer  together  on  the 
sheet,  being  Zl/2  mm.  apart,  vertically 
and  horizontally,  with  lines  between  and 
numerals  opposite  each  vertical  and 
horizontal  row."  Impressions  from  this 
second  plate,  we  are  told,  may  be  recog- 
nised by  their  indistinct  and  blurred 
appearance  and  the  fact  that  the  color 
is  always  a  deep  red-lilac. 

Basing  his  remarks  on  the  wonderful 
study  of  these  stamps  made  by  Mr. 
Vicenz  in  1907,  M.  Brunei  takes  us  much 
deeper  into  the  subject.  We  learn  that 
the  stamps  were  printed  in  sheets  of  192 
stamps  arranged  in  two  panes  of  ninety- 
six  each,  placed  side  by  side.  In  mak- 
ing up  the  lithographic  stone  the  litho- 
grapher took  twelve  transfers  from  his 
original  drawing  making  a  block  of 
three  horizontal  rows  of  four.  This 
block  was  then  re-transferred  to  the 
stone  sixteen  times.  Each  of  the  twelve 
stamps  in  the  transfer  block  differs  in 
minute  particulars  from  the  others  giv- 
ing twelve  types  and  these  were  ar- 
ranged on  the  stone  as  follows : — 


1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

!» 

10 

11 

12 

9 

10 

11 

12 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

,"> 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

g 

10 

11 

12 

9 

10 

11 

12 

i 

a 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

!) 

10 

11 

1° 

9 

10 

11 

12 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9     10      11      12        9      10     11      12 

Those  of  our  readers  who  wish  to 
study  the  peculiarities  distinguishing 
the  types  should  refer  to  M.  Brunei's 
article  in  the  Postage  Stamp. 

Mr.  Westoby's  supposition  that  there 
was  a  second  stone  was  amply  proved 
by  Mr.  Vicenz.  This  was  also  com- 
posed of  sixteen  transfers  of  a  block  of 
twelve  but,  as  the  original  transfer 
block  had  been  destroyed,  a  new  one 
had  to  be  made,  consequently  the  types 
differ  from  those  of  the  first  stone. 

The  design  of  the  2l/2  schilling  was 
similar  as  regards  the  centerpiece,  but 
all  the  inscriptions  were  on  straight  tab- 
lets, and  in  the  corners  were  Maltese 
crosses  enclosed  in  small  squares.  The 
stamps  were  arranged  about  2l/2  mm. 
apart,  both  vertically  and  horizontally, 
and  they  show  dividing  lines  as  in  the 
l^sch.  There  were  numerals  opposite 
the  ends  of  each  vertical  and  horizontal 


M.  Brunei  tells  us  that  there  were 
also  two  stones  for  this  value,  each  be- 
ing composed  of  two  panes  of  96  stamps 
and  each  of  these  stones,  like  the  l^sch 
being  composed  of  transfers  of  twelve 
types,  all  differing  in  small  particulars. 
Those  of  our  readers  interested  cannot 
do  better  than  study  M.  Brunei's  article 
already  referred  to. 

Both  values  were  printed  on  white 
wove  paper  watermarked  with  undulat- 
ing lines  as  shown  in  the  typographed 
stamps.  They  were  issued  imperforate 
and  with  gum  of  a  much  paler  tinge 
than  that  employed  for  the  preceding 
series. 

The  stamps  were  lithographed  by  the 
firm  of  C.  Adler,  of  Hamburg  and  the 
designs  were  apparently  drawn  by  one 
of  the  employees  of  the  firm.  Mr.  R. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

9 

10 

11 

12 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

9 

10 

11 

12 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

0 

10 

11 

12 

9 

10 

11 

12 

1 

2 

3 

4 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

9 

10 

11 

12 

R.  Thiele  tells  us  that  "the  original 
stone  is  still  in  existence,  on  which  the 
drawing  of  the  Insert  may  be  seen  in 
close  proximity  to  the  letterhead  of  a 
wholesale  liquor  dealer."  (Philatelic 
Record,  Vol.  XXXI,  page  118.)  The 
lJ4scn  may  be  found  in  numerous 
shades  ranging  from  deep  red-lilac  to 
grey.  There  was  also  a  small  printing 
in  blue.  The  2^sch  on  the  other  hand, 
hardly  varies  in  tint  at  all. 

Reference  List. 

1864.     Lithographed.     Wmk.   undulating  lines. 
Imperf. 

8.  114  sch  red-lilac,  Scott's  No.  3  or  ?,a. 

9.  I%sch  grey,  Scott's  No.  4. 

10.  1%  sch  blue,   Scott's  No.  5. 

11.  2^  sch   green,    Scott's    No.    7. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

Between  September,  1864,  and  April, 
1865,  all  the  values  included  in  the 
two  series  already  described  appeared 
perforated  13^,  the  perforation  being 
done  by  single  line  or  guillotine  ma- 
chines. 

In  February,  1865,  the  color  of  the 
7sch  was  changed  from  yellow  to 
mauve,  probably  to  prevent  confusion 
with  the  9sch.  Wherever  fresh  print- 
ings were  made  the  stamps  were  manu- 
factured by  the  same  processes  as  be- 
fore, i.  e.,  lithography  for  the  l%sch 
and  2Hsch  values,  and  typography  for 
the  other  denominations.  The  same 
plates  and  stones  were  used  and  the 
typographed  stamps  were  printed  by 
Meissner  and  the  lithographed  ones  by 
Adler  as  before. 

All  values  were  printed  on  the  paper 
watermarked  with  undulating  lines,  and, 
as  in  the  previous  issues,  specimens 
from  the  outer  rows  of  the  sheets  are 
occasionally  found  without  watermark. 
The  ^sch,  Isch  and  2sch  hardly  vary 
in  shade  at  all,  but  most  of  the  other 
values  exist  in  quite  an  array  of  tints. 

The  3sch  in  the  ultramarine  shade 
and  the  7sch  in  mauve  are  both  known 
imperforate  but  it  seems  highly  improb- 
able that  either  was  ever  issued  for  use 


43 


in  this  state.  The  J^sch,  3sch,  and  7sch 
values  are  known  imperforate  vertically 
and  the  9sch  may  be  found  imperforate 
horizontally. 

Reference  List. 
1864-5.     Wmk.    Undulating  lines.     Perf.   13^. 

12.  ^sch  black,   Scott's  No.  13. 

(a)    Imperf.   vertically. 

13.  Isch   brown,    Scott's   No.    14. 

14.  l^sch   mauve,    Scott's   No.    15,   15a   or 

15b. 

15.  2sch   red,   Scott's   No.   16. 

16.  2^sch  green,   Scott's  No.   17  or  17a. 

17.  3sch  blue,   Scott's  No.   18  or  19. 

(a)  Imperf. 

(b)  Imperf.    vertically. 
la     4sch  green,   Scott's   No.  20. 

19.  7sch  orange,   Scott's  No.  21. 

(a)    Imperf.   vertically. 

20.  7sch   mauve,    Scott's    No.    22. 

(a)    Imperf. 

21.  9sch   yellow,    Scott's   No.   23. 

(a)    Imperf.   horizontally. 


THE  FOURTH   ISSUE. 

Although  the  letter  rate  to  Lubeck 
was  reduced  to  l^sch  on  October  1st, 
1865,  and  the  printed  matter  rate  to  the 
Netherlands  was  fixed  at  the  same  fig- 
ure on  July  1st,  1865,  it  was  not  until 
April,  1866,  that  the  postal  authorities 
troubled  to  issue  a  stamp  of  this  value. 

In  this  month  a  series  of  envelopes 
with  embossed  stamps  of  the  values  of 
l/2,  1%,  ll/2,  2,  3,  4  and  7sch  was  issued, 
these  being  manufactured  in  Berlin  by 
the  Prussian  State  Printing  Office.  The 
die  for  the  l^sch  envelope  stamp  was 
made  use  of  in  the  construction  of  a 
plate  for  printing  the  adhesive  stamp 
of  corresponding  value.  The  plate  con- 
sisted of  one  hundred  impressions  ar- 
ranged in  ten  horizontal  rows  of  ten, 
and  the  stamps  were  embossed  in  color 
on  plain  white  wove  paper.  These 
stamps  were  rouletted  10  instead  of  be- 
ing perforated. 


.HAMBURG 


£  POSTMARKED 


The  central  portion  of  the  design  is 
very  similar  to  that  of  the  stamps  of 
the  preceding  issues,  and  shows  the 
numerals  and  Arms  on  a  ground  of 
solid  color  within  an  octagonal  frame. 
Around  this  the  usual  inscriptions  are 
placed  in  the  same  order  as  before,  and 
these  are  separated  at  the  corners  by 
six-rayed  stars  or  asterisks,  each  having 
an  uncplored  circle  in  the  centre.  The 
whole  is  enclosed  in  a  double-lined  oc- 
tagonal frame. 


In  the  following  June  the  litho- 
graphed IJ^sch  stamp  was  superseded 
by  an  embossed  label  of  similar  value. 
This  was  also  manufactured  by  the 
Prussian  State  Printing  Office  and,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  l^sch  the  plate  was 
constructed  from  the  die  for  the  l^sch 
envelope  stamp.  The  plate  was  of  simi- 
lar size  containing  one  hundred  impres- 
sions in  ten  rows  of  ten.  The  design 
is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  l^sch  the 
inscriptions  being  on  an  octagonal  bor- 
der separated  by  stars;  but  the  stamp 
was  converted  into  a  complete  rectangle 
by  adding  a  number  of  diagonal 
parallel  lines  to  each  of  the  four  corners. 
This  stamp  was  likewise  embossed 
in  color  on  white  wove  unwatermarked 
paper  and  rouletted  10. 

Mr.  Brunei  points  out  that  the  genu- 
ine stamps  exhibit  the  following  pecul- 
iarities : — 

(a). — The  figures  "1"  are  formed  of 
ernbossed  cross-hatching  which  runs 
diagonally  from  top  to  bottom  and 
from  right  to  left. 

(b). — In  the  1J4  schilling,  under  the 
"1,"  the  second  line  (forming  the 
background  of  stonework  of  the  tow- 
ers; is  broken. 

(c).— In  the  \l/2  schilling  the  first 
and  second  "i"  of  the  indication  of 
value  (at  left)  are  joined  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  following  "n"  (more  visi- 
ble in  the  case  of  the  first  than  of  the 
second),  likewise  the  letters  of  the 
last  word  "halb." 

(d).— The  "K"  of  "POSTMARKS" 
has  the  base  smaller  than  the  upper 
part. 

These  values  show  practically  no 
variation  of  shade. 

Reference  List. 

1866.      Embossed.      No   wmk.      Rouletted    10. 

22.  l^sch  mauve,  Scott's  No.  25  or  25a. 

23.  l^sch   rose,    Scott's    No.   26. 


THE  FIFTH   ISSUE. 

In  June,  1867,  one  more  change  took 
place  in  the  stamps  of  Hamburg  before 
the  special  issues  were  finally  sup- 
pressed in  favor  of  the  general  issue 
for  the  North  German  Confederation. 
A  further  supply  of  2^sch  stamps  was 
required,  and  as  these  could  not  be  sat- 
isfactorily produced  from  Mr.  Adler's 
lithographic  stone,  typography  was  re- 
sorted to  and  the  old  type  of  1859  was 
rehabilitated. 


44 


These  stamps  were  manufactured  by 
Th.  G.  Meissner,  of  Hamburg  and  it  is 
probable  the  die  was  engraved  by  J.  F. 
R.  Ziesenist,  who  was  responsible  for 
the  other  dies  of  the  same  type.  The 
"secret  mark"  on  this  value  corresponds 
with  that  found  on  the  2sch  of  the  1859 
series — that  is,  there  is  a  small  colored 
dot  under  the  first  "1"  of  "Schilling." 


The  stamps  were  printed  on  the  paper 
watermarked  with  undulating  lines,  and 
they  were  perforated  by  the  13*/2  ma- 
chine. There  are  a  number  of  distinct 
shades,  and  the  variety  is  known  im- 
perforate  and  also  imperforate  horizon- 
tally. 

Compared  with  the  other  typographed 
stamps  this  value  was  produced  in  a 
very  inferior  manner,  this  being  due, 
probably,  to  the  fact  that  it  had  to  be 
manufactured  in  somewhat  of  a  hurry. 

Reference   List. 
1867.     Typographed.     Wmk.     Undulating  lines. 

1M.     2^sch    green.    Scott's    No.    24. 

(a)  Imperf. 

(b)  Imperf.    horizontally. 


THE  UNOFFICIAL  REPRINTS. 

In  1868,  shortly  after  the  stamps 
were  replaced  by  the  issue  for  the  North 
German  Confederation,  the  remainders 
were  offered  for  sale  and  found  a  pur- 
chaser in  the  late  Mr.  J.  Goldner,  a 
well-known  stamp  dealer  of  Hamburg. 
How  many  stamps  were  included  in  this 
lot  is  a  matter  regarding  which  no  in- 
formation has  been  published  that  we 
know  of.  It  would  appear  that  these 
remainders  were  all  specially  printed 
for  sale  if  we  can  place  any  reliance  on 
a  statement  that  when  the  stamps  were 
demonetised  "only  one  sheet  of  the  154 
and  2*/2  schilling  remained  over,  some 
imperforate  sheets  of  the  second  issue 
of  the  1^4  schilling,  and  some  defective 
sheets."  If  this  were  the  case  then  the 
fact  that  the  remainders  had  no  gum 
is  easily  accounted  for. 

Having  very  few  of  the  lithographed 
V/4  and  2^sch  Mr.  Goldner  ap- 
proached the  lithographer,  Mr.  C. 
Adler,  and  finding  the  original  draw- 
ings were  available  commissioned  him 
to  make  new  stones  of  these  values. 


Though  the  design  was  the  same  as  the 
originals  the  stones  were  laid  down  in 
a  different  fashion.  For  the  lJ4sch  a 
block  of  sixteen  transfers  was  made  (in 
four  rows  of  four)  and  this  was  re- 
transferred  to  the  stone  six  times  mak- 
ing sheets  of  96  stamps.1  These  types 
all  show  little  peculiarities  differing 
from  the  issued  stamps,  these  being  de- 
tailed in  full  in  Mr.  Brunei's  article  in 
the  "Postage  Stamp,"  already  alluded 
to.  The  "plate"  for  the  2^sch  also 
consisted  of  96  stamps  but  in  this  in- 
stance the  transfers  were  applied  in 
blocks  of  four. 

These  reprints  appear  to  have  been 
made  in  1872.  At  first  unwatermarked 
paper  was  used  and  then  a  quantity  of 
the  original  watermarked  paper  being 
discovered  this  was  used.  These  "re- 
iprints"  are  known  imperforate,  perf. 
lll/2,  and  perf.  13^.  Those  on  unwater- 
marked paper  or  perf.  11^  can  easily 
be  distinguished  for  there  were  no 
originals  of  this  sort;  and  those  on 
watermarked  paper,  perf.  13^,  may  be 
told  by  the  roughness  of  the  perfora- 
tions compared  with  the  originals. 
Though  the  official  perforating  ma- 
chines were  used  the  pins  had  become 
worn  causing  the  "rough"  effect. 

About  the  same  period  reprints,  or 
rather  imitations,  of  the  1J4  and  l^sch 
stamps  of  1866  were  made.  These  were 
printed  on  white  wove  unwatermarked 
paper  and  are  found  rouletted  8J^  as 
well  as  the  10  of  the  originals.  The 
"reprint"  of  the  l%sch  is  from  a  re- 
touched die  and  it  differs  from  the 
originals  in  having  the  small  circles  in 
the  center  of  the  four  rosettes,  which 
separate  the  inscriptions,  filled  in  with 
color.  There  is  also  no  line  in  the  up- 
per part  of  the  "g"  of  "Schilling."  The 
l^sch  was  reprinted  from  the  envelope 
die,  and  has  a  longer  line  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  "g"  of  "Schilling,"  while  the 
corner  stars  also  have  solid  centers. 
The  paper  is  thicker  and  the  color  of 
the  impression  does  not  show  through 
as  in  the  case  of  the  originals.  Both 
"reprints"  exist  with  forged  postmarks. 


CONCLUDING  NOTES. 

The  few  reprints,  as  we  have  already 
pointed  out,  were  made  privately  some 
years  after  the  stamps  had  become  obso- 
lete, and  these  should  present  no  diffi- 
culties to  the  collector.  Forgeries  of 
most  of  the  values  are  very  common, 
but  as  most  of  these  are  very  roughly 
executed  they  should  hardly  deceive  the 
collector  exercising  ordinary  care. 


As  the  majority  of  Hamburg  stamps 
are  rarer  used  than  unused,  genuine 
stamps  with  counterfeit  postmarks  are 
by  no  means  uncommon.  A  very  usual 
form  of  cancellation  consists  of  a  circle 
containing  the  name  of  the  town  and 
the  date,  and  readers  should  take  note 
of  the  fact  that  such  marks  with  a  star 
or  floret  before  and  after  the  name 
•"HAMBURG"  are  undoubtedly  bad. 


Equally  common  is  a  postmark  com- 
posed of  four  parallel  lines,  either  thick 
or  thin,  20  mm.  long  and  about  5mm. 
apart.  The  forgeries  of  this  usually 
have  the  lines  too  short,  more  than 
four,  irregularly  spaced,  or  thickened  at 
the  ends.  There  is  also  a  cancellation 
composed  of  four  wavy  lines,  but  the 
use  of  this  seems  to  have  been  confined 
to  the  first  issue  only,  and  it  is  rarely 
met  with. 


HANOVER. 


Hanover,  or  Hannover,  as  our  Teu- 
tonic friends  spell  it,  was  formerly  a 
kingdom  of  Northern  Germany,  but 
since  1866  it  has  formed  a  province-  of 
Prussia.  It  stretches  eastwards  from 
the  Netherlands  to  the  Elbe,  and  from 
the  North  Sea  southwards  to  Hesse- 
Nassau,  and  includes  the  former  duchy 
of  East  Friesland,  the  Liineburg  Heath 
(55  miles  long),  part  of  the  Harz  Moun- 
tains, and  outliers  of  the'  Weser  Moun- 
tains. Its  total  area  is  14,833  square 
miles  and  it  has  a  population  well  in  ex- 
cess of  two  and  a  half  millions.  Ex- 
cept in  the  South,  where  the  Harz 
Mountains  attain  a  height  of  3037  feet, 
the  surface  belongs  to  the  great  North 
German  plain,  with  immense  stretches 
of  moor  and  heath.  Large  areas  of  the 
moorlands  have  been  drained  and  re- 
claimed within  recent  years.  Hanover 
is  watered  by  the  Elbe,  Weser,  Ems  and 
their  tributaries,  and  the  soil  near  the 
rivers  is  very  fertile.  One  sixth  of  the 
total  area  is  covered  with  forest. 

The  people  of  the  north-eastern  and 
central  provinces  are  mostly  Saxons; 
those  on  the  coast  are  of  Friscian  origin ; 
those  on  the  west  of  the  Ems,  Dutch; 
and  those  in  the  southern  provinces, 
Thuringians  and  Franconians.  Platt- 
Deutsch,  or  Low  German,  is  commonly 
spoken  in  the  rural  districts,  but  High 
German  is  the  language  of  the  educated 
classes,  and  is  spoken  with  -more  purity 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  Empire. 

Cattle  are  bred  and  grazed  on  the 
marshes  next  the  North  Sea.  Ironware 
and  steel  goods,  textiles,  sugar,  machin- 
ery, gutta-percha  and  india-rubber, 
chemicals,  scientific  instruments,  beer 
and  spirits,  are  the  more  important  pro- 
ducts of  Hanover's  manufacturing  in- 
dustry, while  Geeseemunde  is  one  of  the 
most  important  fishing  ports  in  Ger- 
many. Coal,  iron,  zinc,  lead,  copper  and 
salt  are  mined  in  the  Harz  Mountains. 

The  second  elector  of  Hanover  became 
George  I  of  England  in  1714,  and  from 


that  date  until  1837  the  Hanoverian 
electors  sat  on  the  English  throne. 
When  Queen  Victoria  ascended  the 
throne  Hanover  passed  to  her  uncle 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  On  his  death 
(November  18th,  1851)  his  son,  the 
blind  George  V,  succeeded  to  the  king- 
dom, and  he,  siding  with  Austria  in 
1866,  took  up  arms  against  Prussia,  was 
defeated,  driven  from  his  throne,  'and 
Hanover  was  annexed  to  Prussia. 

The  capital  of  the  province  bears  the 
same  name,  Hanover,  and  is  situated  on 
a  sub-tributary  of  the  Weser,  78  miles 
south-east  of  Bremen,  and  158  miles 
west  of  Berlin.  It  consists  of  the  old 
town,  with  narrow  streets  and  mediaeval 
houses,  and  the  handsome  modern  town 
which  lies  on  the  north,  east,  and  south- 
east of  the  older  portion.  During  the 
last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  town  grew  at  an  enormous  rate,  and 
at  the  present  time  its  population  ex- 
ceeds a  quarter  of  a  million.  The  old 
town  possesses  several  fourteenth,  fif- 
teenth, and  seventeenth  century  build- 
ings, such  as  the  former  royal  palace, 
the  town  hall  (1439),  the  chancellery  of 
justice,  and  the  house  of  Leibnitz,  now 
converted  into  an  industrial  art  museum. 
Intermingled  with  these  are  a  number 
of  quite  new  structures  (1876  to  1911), 
such  as  the  magnificent  railway  station; 
the  royal  library  (containing  200,000 
volumes  and  4,000  MSS)  ;  the  royal 
playhouse,  one  of  the  largest  theatres 
in  Germany;  the  museum,  with  natural 
history  and  art  collections;  the  Kestner 
Museum,  with  antiquities  and  120,000  en- 
gravings;  the  post  office;  and  'the 
Reichsbank.  Hanover  has  a  famous 
polytechnic,  housed  in  the  Welf  (Guelph) 
Castle,  and  attended  by  over  1,500  stu- 
dents. Close  by  is  the  Heddenhausen 
Castle  (1698)  the  favorite  residence  of 
Kings  George  I,  II,  and  V,  whose  beau- 
tiful grounds  are  open  to  the  public. 
The  Duke  of  Celle  chose  Hanover  for 
his  residence  in  1636,  and  it  has  re- 
mained the  capital  city  from  that  date. 


Hanover  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
10th  German  Army  Corps,  and  is  an 
important  centre  of  the  North  German 
railway  system. 


ITS   PHILATELIC  HISTORY. 

The  philatelic  history  of  Hanover 
dates  from  1850 — the  .year  before  the 
death  of  King  Ernest  (Duke  of  Cum- 
berland)— when  a  single  stamp  bearing 
the  face  value  of  one  gutengroschen  was 
issued.  In  1851  Hanover  joined  the 
German-Austrian  Postal  Union,  and  a 
series  of  stamps  was  issued  on  July  21st 
of  that  year  for  defraying  the  rates  of 
postage  within  the  Union.  In  1856 
colored  papers  were  dispensed  with  and 
the  stamps  were  overprinted  with  a 
colored  network  instead.  In  1859  the 
stamps  with  values  expressed  in  frac- 
tions of  a  thaler  were  superseded  by  a 
new  series  bearing  the  portrait  of  King 
George  V.  and  with  values  denoted  in 
groschen.  Until  1864  all  the  stamps 
were  imperforate,  but  in  that  year  five 
values  were  issued  with  a  roulette  (per- 
ccs  en  arc)  gauging  16,  and  in  1866,  on 
the  annexation  of  Hanover  by  Prussia, 
the  whole  of  the  stamps,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  sheets,  were  burned. 

The  currency  was  the  thaler,  divided 
at  first  into  twenty-four  gutengroschen 
of  twelve  pfennig  each,  and.  after  1858. 
into  thirty  groschen  of  ten  pfennig  each. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

The  first  issue  consisted  of  a  single 
stamp,  bearing  the  facial  value  of  one 
gutengroschen,  which  was  placed  on 
sale  on  December  1st,  1850.  The  design 
shows  a  large  open  numeral  "1",  in- 
scribed "GUTEXGR.",  in  a  shield  with 
an  arabesque  ground.  This  is  sur- 
mounted by  the  Anglo-Hanoverian  arms 


on  a  rather  minute  scale.  According  to 
an  article  in  the  Philatelic  Record,  these 
arms  are,  with  a  slight  difference,  the 
same  as  those  borne  by  George  III  and 
succeeding  British  sovereigns  of  the 
Hanoverian  House, — from  1801  until 
William  IV's  death  in  1837.  These  arms 
are,  quarterly :  one  and  four,  England ; 


two,  Scotland;  three,  Ireland;  with,  on 
an  escutcheon  of  pretence,  Brunswick, 
Luneberg,  and  Westphalia,  and  over  all, 
(in  the  centre),  the  golden  crown  of 
Charlemagne,  the  mark  of  the  dignity  of 
arch-treasurer  of  the  Holy  Roman  Em- 
pire, which  belonged  to  the  house  of 
Brunswick.  The  supporters  are  the  lion 
and  unicorn,  and  beneath  is  the  motto 
"SUSCIPERE  ET  FINIRE,"  meaning 
"To  undertake  and  to  finish."  There  is 
a  scroll  at  the  foot,  with  the  ends  run- 
ning up  by  the  sides  of  the  shield,  on 
which  is  "HANNOVER"  at  the  top, 
"FRANCO"  at  the  left,  "EIN.  GGR." 
at  the  right,  and  numerals  in  each  of 
the  lower  angles.  The  period  after 
"EIN"  was  evidently  inserted  in  error, 
for  it  is  quite  unnecessary  and  is  not  re- 
peated on  any  of  the  other  values  is- 
sued in  succeeding  years. 

The  die  was  engraved  by  Herr 
Fickenscher,  a  Hanoverian  engraver, 
and  the  plate  was  made  and  the  stamps 
printed  by  hand  presses  at  the  type 
foundry  and  printing  works  of  Senator 
Culemann,  in  Hanover.  The  form  con- 
sisted of  120  casts,  taken  in  type-metal 
from  the  original  die,  which  were  ar- 
ranged in  twelve  horizontal  rows  of  ten. 
As  is  usual  with  stamps  manufactured 
by  this  process,  there  are  plenty  of 
minor  varieties,  consisting  chiefly  of 
breaks  and  flaws  in  the  frame  and  other 
lines,  and  defective  letters.  The  letter- 
ing of  the  motto,  in  particular,  is  full 
of  defects,  and  a  perfect  inscription  is 
the  exception  rather  than  otherwise. 

The  stamp  was  printed  in  black  on 
colored  paper,  manufactured  by  Osna- 
bruck,  which  was  watermarked  with 
rectangles  of  about  the  same  size  as  the 
stamps.  Like  all  the  other  stamps  is- 
sued prior  to  1864,  this  Iggr  was  im- 
perforate. 

A  peculiarity  of  this  and  other  Han- 
overian stamps  is  the  red  gum  which 
was  used  until  about  1864.  In  the  "Ad- 
tiesive  Postage  Stamps  of  Europe"  the 
late  Mr.  W.  A.  S.  Westoby  made  the 
following  comments  regarding  this 
colored  gum: — "What  was  the  real  rea- 
son for  employing  colored  gum  does  not 
appear,  but  tradition  says  it  was  useful 
in  the  cases  of  stamps  becoming  de- 
tached from  letters,  as  the  red  stain 
showed  that  the  letters  had  been 
stamped,  and  had  lost  the  stamps  during 
transit.  This  explanation  seems  rather 
lame,  for  even  if  it  were  of  any  use 
when  there  was  only  one  stamp,  it 
could  be  of  none  where  there  were  sev- 
eral." However,  the  fact  that  the  gum 
was  colored  is  of  considerable  impor- 
tance to  stamp  collectors,  for  it  forms 
the  best  test  in  distinguishing  originals 
from  reprints. 


47 


To  a  certain  extent  this  stamp  was  ex- 
perimental, for  it  could  not  be  used  on 
foreign  correspondence,  but  prepaid  the 
single  letter  rate  within  the  kingdom  it- 
self, and  also  to  Bremen,  Hamburg, 
Bremerhaven,  Ritzebiittel,  and  Vegesack 
in  each  of  which  towns  the  Hanoverian 
authorities  maintained  a  post  office. 

At  this  period  the  thaler  was  worth 
about  78c  so  the  facial  value  of  this 
stamp  in  United  States  currency  was 
about  3c. 

Reference  List. 
December,  1850.     Wmk.  a  Rectangle.     Imperf. 

1.     Iggr  black  on  grey  blue,   Scott's   No.   1. 


THE  SECOND  ISSUE. 

Presumably  the  experiment  of  issuing 
postage  stamps  soon  proved  quite  sat- 
isfactory, for  in  1851  Hanover  joined 
the  German-Austrian  Postal  Union,  and 
on  July  21st,  three  new  stamps  were  is- 
sued with  values  expressed  in  fractions 
of  a  thaler.  The  stamps  were  all  of 
similar  design,  closely  resembling  that 
of  the  Iggr  but  having  the  groundwork 
of  the  shield  in  solid  color.  The  l/30th 
was  inscribed  "EIN  SGR."  (i.  e.  Isgr) 
in  that  portion  of  the  scroll  by  the  right- 
hand  side  of  the  shield,  and  the  l/15th 
and  l/10th  were  inscribed  "ZWEI 
SGR."  and  "DREI  SGR."  respectively, 
while  at  the  bases  the  numerals  "1",  "2", 
or  "3"  appeared,  to  correspond  with 
these  inscriptions. 


It  appears  that  all  the  states  com- 
prised in  the  German-Austrian  Postal 
Union — at  first  tacitly  and  then  formally 
— agreed  to  use  similar  colors  for  stamps 
of  similar  values  (an  arrangement  after- 
wards adopted  by  the  Universal  Postal 
Union  for  certain  values)  so  red,  blue, 
and  orange  were  the  colors  selected  for 
the  1/30,  1/15  and  1/10  thaler  stamps. 
The  rates  within  the  Union  for  which 
these  particular  values  were  required 
were  as  follows  : — r 

Up  to  10  German  miles,  Isgr  (l/30th). 

Over  10  and  under  20  German  miles 
2sgr 


Over  20  German  miles  3sgr  (l/10th). 

As  blue  was  the  color  chosen  for  the 
l/15th  the  color  of  the  paper  for  the 
Iggr  was  changed  to  grey-green. 

The  dies  for  the  three  new  values 
were  engraved  by  Herr  Fickenscher, 
while  the  plates  were  made  and  the 
stamps  printed  at  Senator  Culemann's 
works  as  was  the  case  with  the  first 
stamp  issued.  Though  we  can  trace  no 
positive  information  on  the  point  it  is 
extremely  probable  that  the  plates  were 
uniform  in  size  and  were  composed  of 
120  type  metal  casts  clamped  together  in 
twelve  horizontal  rows  of  ten.  There 
are  numerous  minor  varieties  in  all 
three  values  caused  by  slight  imperfec- 
tions in  making  the  casts.  These  con- 
sist of  flaws,  broken  lines,  and  defective 
letters  and  they  are  so  numerous  that 
it  would  probably  be  far  from  an  im- 
possibility for  an  enthusiastic  specialist 
to  plate  these  stamps. 

All  three  values  were  printed  in  black 
on  hand-made  colored  wove  paper  which 
was  watermarked  with  a  device  consist- 


ing of  two  branches  of  oak,  crossed  at 
the  stems,  and  curving  upwards  in  the 
form  of  an  oval.  The  watermark  was 
so  arranged  that  one  complete  device 
was  apportioned  to  each  stamp.  The 
papers  vary  but  little  in  shade  with  the 
exception  of  that  for  the  l/30th  which 
was  changed  in  color  from  salmon  to 
crimson  in  1855.  Some  philatelists  con- 
sider the  order  of  these  papers  should 
be  reversed  and  that  the  crimson  was 
the  earlier  shade;  but  judging  from  used 
dated  copies,  there  seems  to  be  no 
ground  for  this  supposition. 

The  Iggr  in  its  new  shade  was  also 
printed  on  the  paper  watermarked  with 
oak  leaves  though  the  same  plate  was 
used  as  before. 

Reference  List. 
1851.     Wmk.  crossed  branches  of  oak.    Imperf. 

2.  Iggr  black  on  grey-green,   Scott's  No.  2 

or  2a. 

3.  l/30th  black  on  salmon,  Scott's  No.  4. 

4.  l/30th  black  on  crimson,   Scott's   No.  3. 

5.  l/15th  black  on  blue,  Scott's  No.  5. 

6.  l/10th  black  on  yellow,  Scott's  No.  6  or 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

On  April  15th,  1853,  a  new  stamp  bear- 
ing the  facial  value  of  3  pfennig  was 
issued  for  use  on  newspapers  and  other 
printed  matter.  The  design  consists  of 
an  upright  vertically  lined  oval  contain- 
ing a  large  numeral  "3"  with  "PFEX- 
NIGET  curved  below,  "HANNOVER"  in 
a  straight  line  above,  and  a  crown  at 
the  top.  Above  the  upper  part  of  the 
oval  is  a  cartouche  with  scroll  ends 
inscribed  "EIN  DRITTEL  SILBER- 
GROSCHEN,"  i.  e.  ^sgr,  or  less  than 
Ic  in  United  States  currency.  The  whole 
is  enclosed  within  a  single  lined  rec- 
tangle. 


pattern  is  horizontal.  At  first  a  fairly 
close  mesh  was  used,  but  this  was  not 
considered  satisfactory  as  it  gave  the 
stamps  a  blurred  or  blotchy  appearance. 
Although  all  values  were  overprinted 
with  this  fine  mesh  only  the  l/10th  was 
actually  placed  in  use.  The  other 
values  are,  therefore,  simply  essays  or 


This  stamp  was  also  engraved  by 
Herr  Fickenscher.  and  typographed  at 
Senator  Culemann's  establishment.  Al- 
though produced  by  the  same  process  as 
that  employed  for  the  preceding  issues, 
this  value  does  not  provide  many  minor 
varieties.  The  only  ones  we  have  no- 
ticed consist  of  small  colored  dots  or 
lines  in  one  or  other  of  the  angles. 

This  value  was  printed  on  white  wove 
paper  watermarked  in  a  similar  manner 
to  that  of  the  1851  series.  The  gum  is 
red  and  this  variety  is  always  imper- 
forate. 


Reference    List. 

1853.     Wmk.  crossed  branches  of  oak. 
7.     opf   pale    rose,    Scott's    No.    7. 


Imperf. 


THE  FOURTH  ISSUE. 

Many  objections  were  raised  to  the 
use  of  colored  papers  for  the  Hanover- 
ian stamps,  and  in  1855  it  was  decided 
to  try  the  experiment  of  printing  the 
stamps  on  white  paper  that  had  prev- 
iously been  covered  with  a  colored  net- 
work of  fine  lines.  This  was  done  by 
means  of  stereotype  plates,  the  network 
covering  the  whole  of  the  sheets  and  hav- 
ing an  ornamental  border  on  the  margins. 
The  network  was  so  arranged  that  the 


stamps  prepared  for  use  and  never  is- 
sued. The  l/10th  with  the  fine  mesh  is 
said  to  have  been  placed  on  sale  late  in 
1855  and  the  other  values  with  the 
larger  network  were  issued  on  January 
1st,  1856.  The  color  of  the  network 
corresponded  with  the  color  of  the  paper 
which  had  been  used  previously  for  the 
several  values.  The  3pf  was  printed  in 
rose  as  before,  and  in  this  case  the  mesh 
was  black  or  grey.  The  l/10th  with  the 
larger  network  was  issued  directly,  the 
supply  with  small  mesh  was  exhausted 
and,  unused,  this  is  perhaps  the  rarest 
individual  Hanoverian  variety. 

The  stamps  were  all  printed  on  un- 
watermarked  paper.  They  were  imper- 
forate  and  had  red  gum  like  the  preced- 
ing issues. 

Reference  List. 
1855-56.     No   watermark.     Imperf. 

(a)  Fine   network. 

8.  l/10th     black     with     orange     network, 

Scott's  No.   15  or  l"»a. 

(b)  Coarse  network. 

9.  3pf    rose    with    black    network,    Scott  s 

No.   8  or  9. 

10.  Iggr  black  with  green   network,   Scott  s 

No.    10. 

11.  l/30th  black  with  rose  network,  Scott  s 

No.    11. 

12.  l/15th  black  with  blue  network,  Scott's 

No.   12. 

13.  l/10th     black     with     orange     network, 

Scott's  No.  13  or  13a. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

The  currency  was  revised  on  October 
1st,  1858,  the  thaler,  which  had  previous- 
ly been  divided  into  24  gutengroschen  of 
12  pfennig  each,  being  now  composed 
of  30  silbergroschen  of  10  pfennig  each. 
At  the  same  time  the  1  gutengroschen 
was  withdrawn  from  circulation  and  the 
rate  of  postage  for  inland  single  letters 
was  altered  to  1  groschen. 

A  few  months  later,  February  15th, 
1859,  to  be  exact,  a  series  of  stamps 
with  values  conforming  to  the  new  cur- 
rency appeared  in  place  of  those  with 
values  expressed  in  fractions  of  a  thaler. 

The  new  stamps  were  of  the  values 
of  1,  2,  and  3  groschen  and  the  design 
shows  a  profile  portrait  of  King  George 
V,  with  head  to  left,  on  a  ground  of 
solid  color  enclosed  in  a  circle  of  pearls. 
Above  the  medallion  is  the  value  "1  (2 
or  3)  GROSCHEN"  and  below  is 
"HANNOVER."  The  whole  is  enclosed 
within  a  rectangular  frame,  the  ground 
between  the  portrait  and  frame  being 
composed  of  fine  vertical  lines.  There 
are  tiny  ornaments  in  each  of  the 
corners. 


across  the  pearled  circle  below  and  to 
the  left  of  the  "O"  of  "Groschen." 

At  the  same  time  the  3pf,  in  the  de- 
sign already  described,  was  issued  with- 
out the  colored  network.  This  stamp, 
and  also  the  Igr  and  2gr,  may  be  found 
in  a  number  of  different  shades. 

On  March  1st,  1861,  a  10  groschen 
stamp  was  added  to  the  set.  This  bore 
a  similar  portrait  of  the  King  but  the 
numerals  of  value  are  much  larger  than 
those  of  the  previously  issued  stamps  of 
similar  type.  This  denomination  was 
only  on  sale  at  the  chief  post-offices  and 
was  intended  for  use  on  heavy  packages 
and  registered  letters.  Judging  by  its 
present  rarity  its  use  must  .have  been 
very  restricted. 

On  November  10th,  1861,  the  color  of 
the  3gr  was  changed  from  yellow  to 
brown,  in  order  to  make  the  color  of 
this  value  conform  to  that  which  had 
been  adopted  by  the  other  members  of 
the  German-Austrian  Postal  Union  for 
this  particular  denomination. 

All  the  stamps  of  this  series  were 
printed  on  plain  white  wove,  unwater- 
marked,  paper  and  they  were  issued  im- 
perforate.  The  gum,  which  up  to  this 
time  had  been  red,  was  changed  to 
rose,  varying  considerably  in  depth  of 
tone. 

Reference  List. 
1859-61.     Rose  gum.     No  wmk.     Imperf. 

14.  3pf  rose,   Scott's   No.   16. 

15.  Igr  rose,  Scott's  Nos.  10,  19a,  or  19b. 

16.  2gr  blue,   Scott's   No.   20  or  21. 

17.  3gr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  22  or  22a. 

18.  ?>gr  brown,  Scott's  No.  23. 

19.  lOgr  olive-green,   Scott's   No.   24. 


One  original  die  served  for  all  three 
values  so  far  as  the  portrait  was  con- 
cerned this  being  engraved  by  Herr 
Brehmer,  engraver  to  the  Mint,  from  a 
photograph ;  while  the  plates  were  made 
and  stamps  printed  at  Senator  Cule- 
mann's  printing  works.  The  plates, 
like  those  for  the  stamps  of  the  preced- 
ing issues,  were  composed  of  120  type- 
metal  casts  arranged  in  twelve  horizon- 
tal rows  of  ten.  The  head  was  the  same 
for  all  three  values,  as  we  have  already 
pointed  out,  but  the  frames  for  the 
three  necessary  subsiduary  dies  were 
separately  engraved,  as  may  easily  be 
proved  if  the  lettering  of  the  inscrip- 
tions is  carefully  examined.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  note  that  in  the  case  of  the 
1  groschen  all  the  pearls  of  the  circle 
are  quite  distinct ;  in  the  2gr  several 
of  those  at  top  of  the  circle  run  into 
one  another,  and  there  is  always  a  large 
colored  dot  between  the  letters  "SC" 
of  "GROSCHEN";  while  in  the  3gr 
there  is  always  a  small  colored  line 


THE  SIXTH  ISSUE. 

A  new  stamp  having  the  facial  value 
of  y2  groschen  was  issued  on  April  1st, 
1860.  The  design  of  this  is  quite  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  any  of  the  other 
values  and  consists  of  a  posthorn  sur- 
mounted by  a  crown,  with  "HAN- 
NOVER" in  thick  block  capitals  at  the 
top,  and  "l/2  Groschen"  at  the  base.  The 


HANNOVER 


j£  Groschen 


whole  is  enclosed  within  a  rectangular 
frame  with  indented  corners,  outside 
each  of  which  is  a  small  colored  dot. 


50 


The  die  was,  presumably,  engraved 
by  Herr  Brehmer,  and  the  stamps  were 
printed  typographically  by  Senator 
Culemann.  As  is  so  frequently  the  case 
with  electrotyped  stamps,  this  value 
shows  many  small  defects  in  the  shape 
of  broken  lines  and  letters,  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  tiny  dots  in  various  parts 
of  the  design. 

This  stamp  was  printed  on  white, 
wove,  umvatermarked  paper,  and  was  is- 
sued with  rose  gum,  imperforate.  A 
later  printing  appeared  with  white  gum. 
Reference  List. 

I860.     No  wmk.     Imperf. 

20.  ^gr  rose  gum,   Scott's   No.   18a. 

21.  l/2gr  white  gum,   Scott's   No.   18. 


THE   SEVENTH    ISSUE. 

On  December  1st,  1863,  the  color  of 
the  3pf  stamp  was  altered  in  color  from 
rose  to  green,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
inscription  on  the  scroll  was  changed 
from  "EIN  DRITTEL  SILBERGRO- 
SCHEN"  to  "DREI  ZEHNTEL  SIL- 
BERGROSCHEN."  The  former,  mean- 
ing ^sgr,  was  hardly  the  correct  equiv- 
alent of  3  pfennig,  as  expressed  in  the 
centre  of  the  stamp,  while  the  modified 
inscription,  meaning  three-tenths  sgr, 
was  exactly  right. 

Apparently  the  original  die  was  al- 
tered by  Herr  Brehmer,  and  the  stamps 
were  printed  by  Senator  Culemann  as 
before. 

The  paper  was  white  wove  and  un- 
watermarked,  the  gum  was  of  a  rose 
color,  and  the  stamp  was  issued  imper- 
forate. 

Reference  List. 
1863.     Rose  gum.     No  wmk.     Imperf. 

--.     3pf  green,  Scott's  No.  17. 


THE  EIGHTH   ISSUE. 

In  1864  perforation  was  introduced, 
the  system  adopted  being  a  form  of 
roulette  known  as  perces  en  arc.  The 
cuts  were  curved  and  close  together, 
and  gauged  16.  The  stamps  so  treated 
were  the  3pf  of  the  seventh  issue,  and 


l/2gr  of  the  sixth  issue  and  the  1,  2  and 
Sgr  of  the  fifth  issue.  The  lOgr  had  up 
to  this  date  been  in  so  little  demand 
that  none  of  them  were  rouletted. 

The  stamps  were  the  same  as  before 
in  all  other  respects,  but  before  the  end 
of  1864  the  color  of  the  gum  was 
changed  to  yellowish  or  white  and  so 
continued  until  .late  in  1866,  when,  Han- 
over having  been  absorbed  by  Prussia 
as  explained  in  our  introductory  notes, 
the  stamps  were  no  longer  available 
for  postal  purposes.  The  2gr  with  rose 
gum  is  not  known  rouletted. 
Reference  List. 

1864.  No.  wmk.     Rose  on  white  gum.     Perces 
en  arc.     16. 

23.  3pf  green,  Scott's  No.  25  or  25a. 

24.  Y2gr  black,  Scott's  No.  26  or  26a. 

25.  Igr  rose,  Scott's  No.  27  or  27a. 

26.  2gr  blue,  Scott's  No.  28. 

27.  Sgr  brown,  Scott's  No.  29  or  29a. 


REPRINTS. 

The  Iggr  of  1850  was  reprinted  in 
1864  but  as  the  reprints  are  on  unwater- 
marked  greyish  paper  they  should  be 
easily  identified. 

The  l/10th  of  1851  was  reprinted  in 
1889  but  this  can  also  be  distinguished 
with  ease  as  the  paper  was  unwater- 
marked  and  the  gum  white. 

All  five  values  of  the  1855-56  issue 
were  reprinted  in  1864  and  here  the  best 
test  is  the  gum,  which  is  yellowish 
white.  The  network  on  the  reprints 
only  extends  over  blocks  of  four  stamps. 
The  l/10th  was  again  reprinted  in  1889 
on  similar  paper  and  with  white  gum. 
On  this  reprint  the  network  was  applied 
stamp  by  stamp.  The  3pf  of  1889  was 
reprinted  in  1889  though  this  is  not  a 
true  reprint  but  rather  an  "official  imi- 
tation." A  new  plate  was  made  from 
a  retouched  die  in  which  the  ribbon 
ends  of  the  scroll  point  downwards  in- 
stead of  outwards.  The  3gr  of  the 
same  issue  was  reprinted  in  1891  in  both 
colors  but  these  reprints  can  be  at  once 
identified  by  the  white  gum.  The  /^gr 
was  reprinted  in  1883,  the  paper  being 
yellowish  and  the  gum  white.  The  only 
value  of  the  rouletted  series  to  be  re- 
printed was  the  3gr  but  as  the  gauge 
is  13 1/2.  instead  of  16  it  is  not  likely  to 
prove  misleading. 


LUBECK. 


The  free  city  of  Lubeck,  the  smallest 
of  the  three  Hanseatic  towns,  is  situated 
on  the  Trave  about  ten  miles  from  its 
mouth.  The  town,  then  known  as 
Lubeca,  was  probably  founded  as  early 
as  1060  and,  though  small,  it  was  rich 
and  consequently  excited  the  cupidity  of 
some  of  its  larger  neighbours.  In  1138 
it  was  entirely  devastated  by  the  Rugians 
but  was  rebuilt  in  1143  by  Adolf  II, 
Count  of  Holstein.  It  was  ceded  to  the 
dukes  of  Saxony  in  1158  and  under 
Henry  the  Lion  it  attained  considerable 
prosperity.  Duke  Henry  gave  it  a  civil 
and  commercial  code  (the  law  of  Lu- 
beck) which,  later,  formed  the  basis  of 
the  law  of  all  the  Hanseatic  towns. 
Lubeck  was  captured  by  the  Danes  in 
1201  and  on  their  expulsion  in  1226  it 
was  made  a  free  and  imperial  city,  and 
it  became  the  leader  of  the  Hanseatic 
league  formed  in  1241.  It  was  then  at 
the  height  of  its  prosperity  but  the  dis- 
solution of  the  Hansa  dealt  it  a  blow 
from  which  it  has  never  recovered.  The 
last  Assembly  of  the  Hansa  met  in  Lu- 
beck in  1669  and  thence  forth  it  de- 
clined in  importance.  It  was  annexed 
by  France  in  1810  and  became  the  capi- 
tal of  the  Department  of  Les  Benches 
de  1'Elbe,  but  it  regained  its  liberty  in 
1813  after  the  battle  of  Leipzig.  In 
August  1866,  it  joined  the  North  Ger- 
man Confederation,  and  in  1870  became 
one  of  the  states  of  the  new  Empire. 
It  has  a  population  of  over  90,000. 

Lubeck,  like  many  other  Continental 
towns,  presents  a  curious  mixture  of  an- 
cient and  modern  architecture.  Opposite 
the  railway  station,  on  the  main 
approach  to  the  city,  is  the  famous  Hol- 
stenthor,  a  15th  centruy  brick-built  gate- 
way, which  was  renovated  in  1870.  Of 
its  numerous  churches  the  Marienkirche 
founded  in  1170,  contains  valuable 
works  of  art.  Its  dome,  enlarged  dur- 
ing the  13th  century,  has  an  altar  paint- 
ing by  Hans  Memling.  Another  ancient 
edifice  is  the  town  hall  (1250)  which  is 
built  of  black  glazed  bricks  in  the  style 
of  the  Renaissance  oeriod. 

Lubeck  has  achieved  some  little  re- 
turn to  its  former  prosperity  since  it 
joined  the  Customs  Union  in  1868.  The 
principal  shipping  trade  is  with  Den- 
mark, Sweden,  Russia,  and  Finland, 
chiefly  in  chemicals,  machinery,  linen 
goods,  preserved  food,  and  cigars. 

Lubeck  is  the  capital  of  the  small 
state  of  the  same  name,  which  has  an 
area  of  115  square  miles  and  a  popula- 
tion of  a  little  over  100,000.  The  coun- 
try is  fertile  and  well  wooded  and  pro- 


duces rye,  wheat,  barley,  oats,  hay,  po- 
tatoes, and  large  quantities  of  fruit.  By 
its  constitution,  revised  in  1875,  the  state 
is  governed  by  a  senate  composed  of  14 
life  members,  and  a  council  of  120  citi- 
zens. Lubeck  is  represented  in  the  Reichs- 
tag by  one  delegate. 


ITS  PHILATELIC  HISTORY. 

Lubeck  issued  its  first  postage  stamps 
on  January  1st,  1859,  at  the  same  time  as 
Hamburg,  and  the  currency  was  also 
the  same,  viz.,  the  Hamburg  mark  of 
16  schilling  equal  to  about  28c  in  United 
States  money. 

The  first  set  consisted  of  five  values 
all  of  similar  design  which  were  printed 
on  watermarked  paper.  Two  years 
later  the  ^sch  and  Isch  were  issued 
on  unwatermarked  paper  and  in  1863  an 
entirely  new  design  was  introduced.  On 
April  1st,  1864,  a  l^sch  stamp  was  is- 
sued and  a  reduction  in  one  of  the  post- 
al rates  in  1865  resulted  in  the  issue  of 
a  l^sch  stamp.  In  1867  the  color  of 
the  Isch  value  was  slightly  changed  and 
this  completed  the  separate  postal  exist- 
ence of  Lubeck  for,  having  joined  the 
North  German  Confederation,  the 
stamps  of  that  Confederation  were  used 
on  and  after  January  1st,  1868. 

The  status  of  these  stamps  was  similar 
to  those  of  Hamburg,  save  that  none 
of  the  values  singly  were  able  to  frank 
a  letter  beyond  the  confines  of  Germany. 
In  the  "Why  and  Wherefore  of  Various 
Stamps,"  published  in  the  Philatelic 
Record  in  1906,  Mr.  R.  R.  Thiele  gives 
some  interesting  and  valuable  informa- 
tion regarding  the  postal  rates,  etc., 
which  we  cannot  do  better  than  repro- 
duce in  his  own  words : — 

The  first  issue  did  not  make  its  ap- 
pearance until  1859.  At  that  time  Lue- 
beck  had  three  post  offices :  that  of 
the  city  itself,  one  of  Thurn  and 
Taxis,  and  one  of  Denmark.  The 
two  latter  had  been  using  stamps  for 
several  years  and  the  force  of  public 
opinion  finally  prevailed  upon  the 
postal  authorities  of  the  Free  City  to 
issue  stamps  also.  The  values  of  the 
first  issue  were  selected  for  the  rates 
most  in  use.  The  one-half  schilling 
stamp  representd  the  rate  on  city  let- 
ters for  local  delivery,  and  also  on  lo- 
cal printed  matter.  The  one  schilling 
stamp  was  intended  for  the  other  city 
(there  is  only  one,— Travemuende) 


52 


and  villages  within  the  territory  of  the 
Free  City,  as  well  as  those  post-offices 
in  the  neighbouring  Duchy  of  Meck- 
lenburg-Schwerin  which  lay  within 
three  German  miles  of  Luebeck.  Two 
schillings  was  the  rate  to  Hamburg 
and  Bergedorf,  hence  the  stamp  of 
this  value.  To  most  of  the  post-offices 
within  the  two  Duchies  of  Mecklen- 
burg-Schwerin  and  Mecklenburg-Stre- 
litz  the  single  letter  rate  was  two  and 
one-half  schillings,  and  hence  a  stamp 
of  this  value  was  found  necessary. 
Finally  the  four  schilling  stamp  repre- 
sented the  single  rate  on  letters  des- 
tined to  points  in  the  territory  of  the 
German-Austria  postal  union  more 
than  twenty  German  miles  from  Lue- 
beck (about  ninety  statute  miles). 
The  rate  to  certain  offices  in  Mecklen- 
burg-Schwerin  was  one  and  one-half 
schilling  and  that  to  other  offices  be- 
tween ten  and  twenty  German  miles 
distant  was  three  schillings,  but  for 
some  reason  stamps  of  these  values 
were  not  issued. 

In  1862  or  1863  the  postal  authori- 
ties received  word  from  London  that 
the  stamps  of  Luebeck  had  been  coun- 
terfeited there.  This  was,  perhaps, 
not  very  difficult,  considering  their 
lithographic  production.  At  all  events 
the  authorities  decided  to  discontinue 
their  lithographed  stamps  and  to  make 
use  of  steel  engraving  in  the  future. 
They,  therefore,  ordered  the  next  set, 
that  of  1863,  from  the  Royal  Prussian 
Printing  Establishment  at  Berlin.  It 
is  related  that  the  price  of  the  die  and 
plates  nearly  gave  the  Luebeckers  a 
fit,  but  that  the  expense,  to  their  great 
joy,  was  soon  counter  balanced  by  the 
orders  of  the  stamp  collectors  of  the 
time,  who  bought  large  numbers  of 
the  pretty  labels.  The  values  repre- 
sent the  same  rates  as  before. 

In  1864  the  war  with  Denmark  broke 
out  and  the  Duchies  of  Schleswig  and 
Holstein  were  occupied  by  the  Feder- 
al troops.  Correspondence  for  these 
two  Duchies  from  Luebeck  had  for- 
merly been  handled  by  the  Danish 
office  at  Luebeck,  but  this  office  was 
now  closed  because  of  the  war  and  the 
city  post  office  took  charge  of  all  mail 
for  the  duchies.  The  Danish  rate  had 
been  four  skillings,  equivalent  to  one 
and  one-fourth  schillings  in  Luebeck 
currency ;  hence  the  department-  is- 
sued a  new  stamp  of  the  latter  value. 
As  it  had  to  be  provided  in  a  hurry 
it  was  not  engraved  and  printed  in 
Berlin  like  the  set  then  current,  but 
was  lithographed  by  Rahtgens  at  Lue- 
beck. In  1866  the  rate  was  raised  to 
one  and  one-half  schilling  and  the  one 


and    one-fourth    schilling    stamp    was 
then  discontinued. 

As  above  mentioned  the  rate  to 
Hamburg  and  Bergedorf  was  two 
schillings.  In  1865  this  rate  was  low- 
ered to  one  and  one-half  schillings 
and  a  stamp  of  this  value  was  issued. 
It  was  again  printed  at  Berlin,  but  it 
was  not  ready  on  the  date  when  the 
reduced  rate  went  into  effect  and  the 
official  notice,  with  charming  simplicity, 
points  out  that  the  postage  might, 
nevertheless,  be  made  up  by  means  of 
the  one  schilling  and  the  half  schill- 
ing stamps. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

Lubeck  issued  its  first  series  of  ad- 
hesive postage  stamps  on  January  1st, 
1859,  the  values  being  ^,  1,  2,  2,y2  and 
4  schilling.  Their  use  was  entirely  op- 
tional but  when  used  the  public  were 
requested  to  affix  them  to  the  left  upper 
corner  of  the  face  of  the  letter  and  this 
continued  to  be  the  recognised  mode  of 
affixing  the  stamps  until  1864.  Official 
proof  of  this  is  found  in  the  stamped 
envelopes — those  issued  in  1863  shew 
the  stamp  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner, 
while  those  issued  in  1864  have  the  label 
in  the  right  upper  angle. 


The  design  is  the  same  for  all  five 
values  and  shows  the  Arms  of  Lubeck 
on  a  field  d'or  (represented  heraldically 
by  a  dotted  ground)  within  three 
scrolls  arranged  in  the  form  of  an  in- 
verted horseshoe.  The  lower  of  these 
scrolls  contains  the  word  "POST- 
MARKE,"  the  one  at  left  contains  the 
value  in  words,  and  that  on  the  right 
is  inscribed  with  the  word  "SCHILL- 
ING." In  a  straight  line  at  the  top  is 
"LUBECK"  while  in  each  of  the 
angles  the  value  is  shown  in  white 
figures  on  a  ground  of  solid  color.  The 
spaces  between  the  corners  are  linked 
up  by  ornamental  lines  and  the  whole 
is  enclosed  within  a  single  line  rectangu- 
lar frame. 

Who  was  responsible  for  the  design 
does  not  seem  to  be  known  but  the 


stamps  were  manufactured  by  H.  G. 
Rahtgens,  a  printer  engaged  in  business 
in  Lubeck.  The  method  employed  was 
lithography  and  minute  differences  in  the 
designs  for  each  value  show  that  a 
special  die  or  drawing  was  made  for 
each.  From  the  original  design  in  each 
case  one  hundred  transfers  were  taken 
and  arranged  on  the  lithographic  stone 
in  ten  horizontal  rows  of  ten. 

In  making  up  the  stone  for  the  2 
schilling  two  transfers  of  the  2J^sch 
were  accidentally  inserted  in  the  bottom 
row.  The  mistake  was  discovered  be- 
fore any  of  the  stamps  were  printed  and 
to  remedy  it  the  lithographer  removed 
the  numerals  "2%"  from  each  of  the 
four  corners  of  the  offending  labels  and 
drew  in  the  correct  figures  "2."  He, 
however,  omitted  to  alter  the  inscription 
showing  the  value  in  words  so  that 
these  two  stamps,  printed  in  the  cor- 
rect color  for  the  2sch  and  showing  the 
correct  value  "2"  in  the  corners  are, 
nevertheless,  wrongly  inscribed  2^sch 
as  shown  by  the  lettering  "ZWEI  EIN 
HALB."  The  errors  occurred  on  the 
sixth  and  seventh  stamps  of  the  lower 
row. 

As  a  safeguard  against  forgery  the 
designer  of  these  stamps  introduced  se- 
cret dots  into  his  work.  The  center  of 
the  small  ornament  at  the  foot  of  the 
design  consists  of  a  short  horizontal 
line  on  all  the  ^sch  stamps  a  tiny  dot 
appears  above  this  line;  on  the  Isch  the 
dot  is  below  the  line;  on  the  2sch  there 
are  two  dots  below  the  line,  one  at  each 
end;  on  the  2^sch  there  are  two  dots 
below  and  one  above,  in  the  center; 
while  on  the  4sch  there  are  four 
dots  below  the  line.  In  the  case  of 
the  2sch  error  the  dots  are  as  in  the 
2^2sch.  In  addition  to  these  dots  there 
are  numerous  small  peculiarities  distinc- 
tive to  each  value.  In  an  article,  trans- 
lated in  the  Postage  Stamp,  M.  Georges 
Brunei  gives  a  lengthy  list  of  these  little 
marks  but  for  all  practical  purposes 
the  following  tests,  described  in  The 
Philatelist  so  long  ago  as  1871  are 
ample : — 

J^sch. — Eagle's  right  beak  does  not 
go  against  the  wing.  The  bird  does 
not  touch  the  label  in  any  place. 
There  is  no  period  after  SCHILLING. 
The  lines  by  which  the  figures  are 
divided  are  very  fine,  and  the  figures 
themselves  are  small. 

Isch. — Eagle  very  much  like  the  one 
on  the  y2sch  but  the  right  hand  end 
is  more  flattened  and,  consequently, 
shapeless.  EIN  is  in  letters  of  the 
same  size  as  those  used  in  the  words 
following  it. 

2sch. — Eagle's  left  beak  touches  the 
wing,  and  the  right  one  nearly  so; 


there  are  no  dots  between  the  heads 
and  wings.  Over  the  U  is  a  diaeresis 
of  very  small  solid  dots. 

2^sch.  —  Eagle's  left  claw  is  at  some 
little  distance  from  the  inscribed  ri- 
band. No  period  after  any  of  the 
words.  All  the  fractional  figures  are 
very  small,  and  the  strokes  dividing 
them  very  indistinct.  The  topmost  of 
the  three  dashes  under  the  upright 
stroke  upon  the  left  hand  is  merely  a 
dot. 

4sch.  —  The  third  segment  of  the 
eagle's  right  wing  touches  the  riband. 
There  are  either  four  or  five  dots  (but 
only  three  are  clearly  formed)  in  the 
hollow  between  the  beak  and  the 
wing,  and  those  not  together,  but  dis- 
persed. P  of  POSTMARKE  almost 
touches  the  fold  of  the  band. 
The  paper  upon  which  these  stamps 
were  printed  was  not  specially  requisi- 
tioned but  was  obtained  from  Matz,  a 
stationer  in  the  town,  who  had  on  hand 
a  stock  of  thin  fancy  paper  water- 
marked throughout  with  small  flowers 
of  myosotis.  It  was  paper  really  in- 
tended to  be  made  up  into  boxes  of 
fancy  note-paper.  The  stamps  were  is- 
sued imperforate  and  the  sheets  were 
gummed  with  yellowish  gum  according 
as  they  were  required  for  use.  M. 
Brunei  states  that  the  stamps  were  dis- 
tributed to  the  postmasters  ungummed 
and  these  latter  aflfixed  the  gum  before 
selling  them  to  the  public.  Such  a  pro- 
ceeding appears  highly  improbable  for 
the  postmasters  would  not  be  likely  to 
have  facilities  at  hand  for  gumming 
sheets  of  stamps.  The  statement  has  no 
foundation  in  fact  but  there  seems  little 
doubt  that  Rahtgens  only  gummed  the 
sheets  as  they  were  required.  Indeed, 
in  an  article  in  the  Philatelic  Record 
translated  from  the  German  we  read 
"I  learned  from  a  member  of  the  Raht- 
gens firm  that  they  had  not  delivered 
all  the  stamps  at  one  time,  and  gummed. 
On  the  contrary  they  were  in  the  habit 
of  remitting  small  quantities  to  the 
authorities,  as  the  stamps  became 
needed,  and  they  only  kept  in  stock  a 
small  number  of  sheets  gummed  in  ad- 
vance." This  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
the  remainders  of  these  stamps  were 
all  ungummed. 

Although  the  sheets  were  only 
gummed  as  required  it  would  appear 
that  the  whole  of  the  stamps  originally 
ordered  were  printed  at  the  same  time 
the  total  supply  printed  being 


400  sheets  =  40,000  stamps. 
Isch  200  sheets  =  20,000  stamps. 
2sch  1366  sheets  =  138,600  stamps. 
SJ^sch  500  sheets  =  50,000  stamps. 
4sch  1499  sheets  —  149,900  stamps. 


As  there  were  two  errors  in  each  of 
the  sheets  of  the  2sch  the  total  number 
of  normal  stamps  was  135,820  while 
there  were  2,772  errors. 

Variations  in  shade  are  not  very 
prominent  though  the  green  of  the  4sch 
differs  a  little. 

Reference  List. 

1859.     Wmk.       Myosotis    Flowers.       Imperf. 

1.  ^sch  slate  lilac,   Scott's   No.   1. 

2.  Isch   orange,  Scott's   No.  2. 
::.       L'sch  brown,  Scott's  No.  3. 

(a)  Variety   lettered  ZWEI  EIN  HALB. 
4.  2'^sch  rose,    Scott's   No.   4. 
ii.       4sch  green,  Scott's  No.  5  or  No.  5a-. 


THE  SECOND  ISSUE. 

The  quantites  printed  of  the  */2  and 
Isch  would  appear  to  be  ridiculously 
small  but  they  lasted  nearly  two  years. 
A  further  printing  was  made  in  1861 
consisting  of  1100  sheets  (110,000 
stamps;  of  the  ^sch  and  499  sheets 
(49,900  stamps)  of  the  Isch.  As  no 
more  of  the  fancy  paper  watermarked 
with  myosotis  flowers  was  available  or- 
dinary umvatermarked  white  wove 
paper  was  used.  The  same  stones  were 
used  and  with  the  exception  of  the 
paper  the  stamps  are  exactly  like  those 
of  the  preceding  issue.  These  two  va- 
rieties are  said  to  have  been  issued  in 
September,  1861. 

Reference  List. 

1861.     No   wmk.      Imperf. 

6.  ^sch  dull  lilac,   Scott's   No.  6. 

7.  Isch  orange,  Scott's  No.  7. 

Both  these  starhps  are  very  much 
rarer  used  than  unused  and  about  twice 
as  rare  with  gum  as  without. 


THE  THIRD   ISSUE. 

In  consequence,  it  is  said,  of  the 
stamps  being  extensively  counterfeited 
it  was  decided  to  issue  a  new  series 
and  the  order  for  these  was  placed  with 
the  Royal  Prussian  Printing  Establish- 
ment at  Berlin.  As  it  was  determined 


of  the  series  they  replaced  the  design 
being  alike  for  all  five.  In  the  center 
are  the  Arms  of  Lubeck  on  an  upright 
oval  of  solid  ground,  around  which  is 
an  engine-turned  band  inscribed  "LUE- 
BECK"  in  its  upper  portion  and 
"SCHILLING"  at  the  base,  while  the 
numerals  denoting  the  values  are  shown 
on  uncolored  discs  at  the  sides.  The 
stamps  were  embossed  in  color  on  plain 
white  wove  paper  in  sheets  of  100  (10 
rows  of  10)  and,  as  in  the  case  of  most 
other  embossed  stamps  produced  at  this 
establishment,  the  rows  were  numbered 
in  the  margins.  The  stamps  were  rou- 
letted  11^  in  line. 

These  new  stamps  were  first  placed 
on  sale  on  July  1st,  1863,  when  the 
preceding  set  ceased  to  be  issued, 
though  their  use  was  permitted  until  the 
end  of  the  year  as  a  convenience  to  the 
general  public.  The  quantities  printed 
were  as  follows  : — 

^sch  1,200  sheets  =  120,000  stamps. 

Isch  800  sheets  =  80,000  stamps. 

2sch  1,200  sheets  =  120,000  stamps. 

2^sch  500  sheets  =  50,000  stamps. 

4sch  800  sheets  =  80,000  stamps. 

This  parcel  was  dispatched  from  Ber- 
lin in  June,  1863,  and  no  more  of  the  2, 
2^,  and  4sch  were  printed.  A  further 
supply  of  240  sheets  of  the  ^sch  (24,000 
stamps)  was  printed  in  October,  1865, 
and  a  second  supply  of  the  1  schilling, 
consisting  of  200  sheets  (20,000  stamps) 
was  printed  in  May,  1867.  This  latter 
differs  from  the  others  in  having  a 
gauge  of  ten  for  the  roulette.  The  color 
was  also  different  from  the  Isch  issued 
in  1863,  the  shade  being  orange  instead 
of  the  previous  orange-vermilion. 

Reference  List. 
1863-67.     Embossed.    No  wmk.    Rouletted  11%. 

8.  J^sch  green,  Scott's  No.  8. 

9.  Isch  orange-vermilion,   Scott's  No.  9. 

10.  Isch  orange,   Roul.   10,   Scott's   No.   9a. 

11.  2sch  rose,  Scott's  No.  10. 

12.  2j4sch    ultramarine,    Scott's    No.    11. 

13.  4sch  bistre,   Scott's  No.   12. 


to  issue  a  series  of  envelopes  as  well  as 
adhesives  the  same  dies  were  utilised  for 
both,  and  these  were  engraved  by  Schill- 
ing. The  values  are  the  same  as  those 


THE  FOURTH  ISSUE. 

Until  1864  Denmark  had  maintained 
a  post-office  in  Lubeck  but  when,  owing 
to  the  war,  the  duchies  of  Schleswig, 
Holstein,  and  Lauenberg  were  detached 
from  Denmark  this  office  was  aban- 
doned. Mail  for  the  duchies  was  then 
handled  by  the  city  Post  the  rate  on 
single  letters  being  fixed  at  IJ^sch.  As 
there  was  no  stamp  of  that  value  or  a 
^sch  by  means  of  which  the  rate  might 
be  made  up  in  conjunction  with  a  Isch 
stamp  had  to  be  issued  and  as 


55 


the  demand  for  this- was  somewhat  ur- 
gent it  was  decided  to  produce  it  locally 
by  lithography  rather  than  wait  for  a 
supply  from  Berlin.  H.  G.  Rahtgens, 
who  produced  the  first  series,  was  en- 
trusted with  the  manufacture  of  this 
l^sch  label.  The  design  is  a  palpable 
copy  of  the  embossed  stamps  and  shows 
the  Arms  of  Lubeck  on  a  dotted  ground 
within  an  upright  oval  band  inscribed  in 
a  similar  manner  to  the  stamps  of  the 
1863  series.  The  stamps  were  litho- 
graphed in  sheets  of  100  and  there  were 
two  printings.  The  first  of  .these  took 
place  in  March,  1864,  when  525  sheets 
(52,500  stamps)  were  printed  and  the 
second  was  made  in  November  of  the 
same  year  when  517  sheets,  or  51,700 
stamps  were  prepared.  They  were  is- 
sued imperforate  and  a  number  of  dif- 
ferent shades  may  be  found. 


Reference  List. 

1864.     No  wmk.     Imperf. 
1(4.  I'^sch  brown,  Scott's  No.  14. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

On  October  1st,  1865,  the  postage  be- 
tween Lubeck  and  Travemund  on  the 
one  side,  and  Hamburg,  Bergedorf  and 
Geestacht  on  the  other  was  reduced  to 
\l/2  schilling,  and  a  stamp  to  provide  for 
the  new  rate  was  ordered  from  Berlin 
together  with  an  envelope  of  similar 
value.  The  first  supply  of  202  sheets 
(20,200  stamps)  was  sent  in  November, 
1865.  and  a  second  supply  of  200  sheets 
(20,000  stamps)  was  despatched  in  May, 
1867,  these  being  printed  in  a  brighter 
tint.  The  design  is  similar  to  that  of 
1863  except  that  the  inscribed  band  is 
octagonal  instead  of  oval  while  the  rec- 
tangular form  is  obtained  by  the  filling 
of  the  angles  with  engine-turning. 
These  were  rouletted  11^  in  line  like 
the  emission  of  1863. 

This  was  the  last  special  stamp  issued 
by  the  Lubeck  administration  (though 
there  was  a  later  printing  of  the  Isch 
as  we  have  already  shown)  before  its 
absorption  by  the  North  German  Con- 
federation on  January  1st,  1868. 


Reference  List. 

1867.      Embossed.      No   wmk.      Roul.    11JA. 
15.  IJ^sch  mauve,  Scott's  No  13. 


THE  REMAINDERS. 

At  the  time  the  Lubeck  Post-office 
went  out  of  business  as  a  distinctive 
stamp  issuing  establishment  quite  a  con- 
siderable number  of  stamps  remained  on 
hand  and  these  were  sold  in  December, 
1868,  to  M.  Ch.  Pelletreau,  of  Paris,  for 
about  $450.00.  The  lot  comprised  the 
following : — 

1859.     y2sch  72,500  stamps. 
Isch  29,500  stamps, 
2sch  79,500  stamps. 
26,500  stamps. 
4sch  107,500  stamps. 

1863.  l/2sch  23,968  stamps. 

Isch  7,228  stamps. 
2sch  50,828  stamps. 
28,951  stamps. 
4sch  17,851  stamps. 

1864.  l*4sch  30,652  stamps. 

1865.  l^sch  97,071  stamps. 

Those  of  the  first  issue  were  all  with- 
out gum  and  the  two  lowest  values  were 
the  varieties  on  unwatermarked  paper. 
Of  the  2sch,  1590  were  the  errors  in- 
scribed "Zwei  ein  HALB." 


REPRINTS. 

In  1871  Herr  Kirchner,  a  soldier  who 
had  been  wounded  in  the  Franco-Ger- 
man war,  obtained  the  permission  of 
the  authorities  to  make  reprints  of  all 
the  stamps  of  Lubeck  excepting  the 
lJ4sch  of  1864  for  which,  apparently, 
no  die  had  been  made,  or;  if  made,  had 
been  lost.  These  reprints  were  made 
for  Herr  Kirchner  by  H.  G.  Rahtgens 
who  charged  the  modest  sum  of  $7.50 
for  the  work.  Of  the  1859  issue  250 
of  each  value  were  reprinted  with  an 
additional  250  of  the  Isch  on  thick 
paper.  As  the  original  stones  were  not 
available  new  ones  had  to  be  made  and 


these  were  small  ones  of  25  impressions 
in  five  rows  of  five.  These  varieties 
are,  therefore,  not  true  reprints  but  imi- 
tations made  with  official  sanction.  The 
paper  is  thin  (with  the  exception  of  the 
extra  lot  of  Isch  already  referred  to) 
and  unwatermarked,  the  gum  smooth 
and  evenly  applied,  instead  of  thick  and 
yellowish  as  in  the  originals,  and  the 
colors  are  also  different.  As  these  re- 
prints are  far  rarer  than  the  original 


stamps  they  are  not  likely  to  worry  the 
average  collector. 

At  the  same  time  reprints  of  the  1863 
issue  were  made  and  also  of  the  l^sch 
of  1865.  There  were  only  250  of  these 
likewise,  but  as  they  were  neither  em- 
bossed nor  rouletted,  and  printed  in 
colors  widely  differing  from  the  origi- 
nals their  identification  should  be  a 
simple  matter.  These  are,  of  course,  as 
rare  as  the  reprints  of  the  1859  set. 


MECKLENBURG-SCHWERIN. 


Mecklenburg-Schwerin  is  a  grand- 
duchy  of  the  German  Empire  lying 
south  of  the  Baltic  Sea.  The  surface  is 
generally  flat  but  diversified  by  the 
Baltic  ridge  of  the  North  German  plain. 
Its  area,  including  that  of  its  sister 
duchy,  Mecklenburg- Strelitz,  is  6,266 
square  miles  and  the  combined  popula- 
tion of  both  is  not  far  in  excess  of  800,- 
000.  Agriculture,  the  most  important 
industry  in  the  duchy,  has  reached  a 
high  state  of  development.  Sugar  and 
starch  factories,  breweries  and  distil- 
leries, and  the  making  of  machinery  and 
bricks  are  the  other  industries  of  mo- 
ment. Salt  and  gypsium  are  extracted. 
The  capitol  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin  is 
Schwerin.  The  town  of  next  importance 
is  Rostock  at  which  a  well-known  uni- 
versity is  established.  The  population 
of  the  towns  and  land-owning  classes 
are  of  lower  Saxon  descent,  while  the 
rural  population  are  mostly  of  Slav  de- 
scent. The  current  language  is  Platt- 
Deutsch  or  Low  German.  The  duchy 
dates  from  1710,  while  the  title  of  grand 
duke  dates  from  1815.  During  the  time 
its  postage  stamps  were  in  use  the  reign- 
ing Grand  Duke  was  Frederick  Francis 
II.  Alecklenburg-Schwerin  has  two 
votes  in  the  Imperial  Federal  Council 
and  sends  six  members  to  the  Imperial 
Diet. 


ITS  PHILATELIC  HISTORY. 

The  grand-duchy  of  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin  did  not  issue  its  first  postage 
stamps  until  July  1st,  1856,  though  it  ap- 
pears to  have  joined  the  German-Aus- 
trian Postal  Union  some  years  previous- 
ly and  to  have  been  desirous  of  issuing 
stamps.  Its  currency,  however,  seems 
to  have  been  a  stumbling  block  for  be- 
ing in  thalers  and  schillinge  some  diffi- 
culty was  experienced  in  arriving  at 
equivalents  acceptable  to  the  other  mem- 


bers of  the  Union.  The  thaler,  equal  to 
about  ?2c  in  United  States  currency,  was 
divided  into  48  schillinge,  while  the 
thaler  of  the  Postal  Union  (also  worth 
about  72c)  was  equal  to  30  North  Ger- 
man silber-groschen.  After  some  dis- 
cussion it  was  agreed  that  1  silbergro- 
schen should  be  represented  by  1^4 
schillinge,  2  silbergroschen  by  3^4  schit- 
linge,  and  3  silbergroschen  by  5  schil- 
linge. 

The  letter  rates  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  duchy  were  1  schilling  up  to  three 
German  miles,  1  schilling  6  pfennige  (or 
\l/2  schilling)  from  three  to  six  miles, 
and  3  schillinge  for  distances  over  six 
miles.  The  rate  on  printed  matter 
weighing  under  1  loth  was  l/2  schilling, 
regardless  of  distance,  and  for  heavier 
packages  the  rate  was  one-fourth  that 
charged  for  letters.  The  rates  for  let- 
ters sent  to  other  countries  within  the 
Postal  Union  were  1££  schilling  for  dis- 
tances up  to  10  miles,  3*4  schilling  for 
distances  of  10  to  20  miles,  and  5  schil- 
ling for  distances  over  20  miles.  These 
rates  would  have  necessitated  quite  a 
number  of  different  denominations  but 
the  difficulty  was  surmounted  by  the  in- 
genious expedient  of  issuing  a  divisible 
1  schilling  stamp  (so  constructed  that  it 
could  be  cut  up  into  four  parts  of  Y± 
schilling  each)  and  3  and  5  schillinge 
values.  In  1864  the  4/4  schilling  stamp 
was  issued  rouletted  and  almost  immedi- 
ately after  it  was  changed  somewhat  in 
design.  At  the  same  time  the  color  of 
the  5sch  was  changed  from  blue  to 
bistre.  In  September,  1865,  the  3sch  ap- 
peared rouletted. 

In  1863  the  postal  rates  were  revised 
as  regards  inland  letters  the  new  sched- 
ule being  1  schilling  for  distances  up  to 
five  miles,  2  schilling  from  five  to  ten 
miles,  and  3  schilling  above  ten  miles. 
For  printed  matter  distance  was  disre- 
garded and  the  rates  were  fixed  by 
weight  at  y2  schilling  up  to  1  loth,  1 
schilling  from  1  to  4  loth,  and  2  schilling 
from  4  loth  to  eight  ounces.  It  will' 


thus  be  seen  that  there  was  considerable 
necessity  for  a  2  schilling  stamp  but  a 
label  of  this  value  was  not  issued  until 
October,  1866.  In  the  following  year  it 
underwent  a  change  of  color  and  on 
January  1st,  1868,  the  separate  series  of 
stamps  for  Mecklenburg- Schwerin  was 
dispensed  with  on  the  formation  of  the 
North  German  Confederation. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

The  first  stamps,  as  we  have  already 
stated,  were  issued  on  July  1st,  1856. 
They  were  printed  at  the  Prussian  State 
Printing  Office,  in  Berlin,  on  white  wove 
paper  and  were  issued  imperforate.  The 
design  of  the  1  schilling  consisted  of 
four  small  stamps  of  Y\  schilling  each 
in  two  rows  of  two,  the  combined  four 
being  about  21  mm.  square.  The  design 
on  each  of  these  four  quarters  shows  a 
bull's  head  (or  that  of  a  buffalo  accord- 
ing to  some  writers)  the  Arms  of  Meck- 
lenburg, on  a  dotted  ground,  heraldically 
representing  a  field  d'or.  This  was  en- 
closed by  a  square  frame  inscribed 
"SCHILLING"  at  the  base  and  "MECK- 
LENB.  SCHWERIN  FRIEMARKE" 
on  the  other  three  sides,  the  numerals 
of  value  being  in  the  angles.  The  3  and 
5  schillinge  are  alike  in  design  and 
show  a  bull's  head  on  a  dotted  ground 
within  a  shield,  surmounted  by  a  grand 
ducal  coronet  on  an  uncolored  ground. 
Around  this  centerpiece  is  a  square 
frame  being  inscriptions  similar  to  those 
on  the  lowest  denomination  except  that 
the  word  at  base  is  "SCHILLINGE." 
The  numerals  in  the  angles  are,  of 
course,  "3"  and  "5"  respectively. 

The  sheets  consisted  of  120  stamps 
arranged  in  twelve  rows  of  ten.  Ac- 
cording to  the  late  Mr.  W.  A.  S.  Westo- 
by  "the  480  electrotypes  for  the  J4  schil- 
ling were  arranged  in  groups  of  four  in 
two  rows  of  two,  1}4  mm.  distance  from 
each  other,  and  1^4  mm.  between  each 
group."  Other  writers  state  that  the 
small  electrotypes  were  placed  an  equal 
distance  apart  horizontally  and  vertical- 
ly so  that  each  was  virtually  a  separate 
54  schilling  stamp.  The  electrotypes  for 
the  3  and  5  schillinge  values  were  spaced 
about  2  mm.  apart.  The  rows  were 
numbered  in  the  margins  at  each  side 
from  1  to  12  respectively.  Three  de- 
liveries of  these  stamps  were  made  by 
the  Prussian  State  Printing  Office  viz. : 
Date.  Sheets.  Value.  Stamps 

June  9, 1856.  6,300  4/4sch  756,000 

June  9, 1856.  1,800  3sch  216,000 

June  9, 1856.  600  5sch  72,000 

Nov.  26, 1856.  200  3sch  24,000 

Dec.  16, 1856.  1,650  3sch  198,000 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  total  supply 
of  the  5sch  consisted  of  only  72,000 
stamps  so  that  it  is  rather  surprising  its 
catalogue  value  is  not  higher.  The  only 
denomination  that  varies  in  shade  is  the 
2sch  which  is  found  in  yellow  and 
orange-yellow. 


3LSCHJLLIKGE 


Reference  List. 

1856.  Typographed.      Imperf. 

1.  4/4sch  red,  Scott's  No.  1. 

2.  3sch  yellow,  Scott's  No.  2  or  No.  2a. 

3.  osch  blue,  Scott's  No.  3. 


THE  SECOND  ISSUE. 

On  June  12th,  1864,  a  supply  of  500 
sheets  (60,000  stamps)  of  the  4/4sch 
stamp  was  ordered  from  Berlin  and  de- 
livered early  in  July.  The  printers  took 
it  upon  themselves  to  roulette  the  stamps 
in  this  supply  and  as  the  innovation  was 
approved  by  the  Mecklenburg  authorities 
all  further  supplies  of  stamps  were  is- 
sued with  roulette  separation.  This 
rouletting  necessitated  a  new  arrange- 
ment of  the  little  electrotypes.  The 
groups  of  four  were  arranged  with  a 
space  of  3mm.  between  them,  which  al- 
lowed of  a  rouletting  in  line  between 
each  group.  The  paper  on  which  this 
supply  of  stamps  was  printed  was  of  a 
different  texture  from  that  used  in  1856, 
having  a  smoother  surface  and  being 
softer  with  a  more  pronounced  mesh. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there  were 
nearly  as  many  of  these  stamps  printed 
as  of  the  5sch  blue  this  is  the  rarest  of 
all  Mecklenburg  stamps  as  a  glance  at 
the  catalogue  will  show. 


Reference  List. 

July,  1864.     Typographed.     Rouletted 
4.     4/4sch  red,  Scott's  No.  4. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

A  notice  issued  by  the  Post  Office  un- 
der date  September  30th,  1864,  informed 
the  public  that  as  soon  as  the  stock  of 
5sch  blue  was  exhausted  a  new  issue 
would  be  made  printed  in  brown,  and 
that  the  dotted  ground  in  the  4/4  schil- 
ling stamps  had  been  suppressed.  The 
actual  date  of  issue  of  these  two  new 
varieties  does  not  seem  to  be  known  for, 
though  the  official  circular  referred  to 
above  is  dated  Sept.  30th,  a  delivery  of 
the  osch  bistre  was  made  on  July  15th, 
1864,  while  the  first  lot  of  the  4/4sch  was 
delivered  on  August  10th.  These  stamps 
were  printed  in  sheets  of  100  in  ten 
rows  of  ten  instead  of  120  as  formerly. 
The  dates  and  quantities  of  the  different 
supplies  were  as  follows  : — 

Date.  Sheets.  Value.  Stamps 

July  15,  1864.  100  5sch  10,000 

Aug.  10, 1864.  4,000  4/4sch  400,000 
March  20, 1865.  150  5sch  15,000 
Oct.  20,  1865.  150  5sch  15,000 

Jan.  9,  1866.  5,000  4/4sch  500,000 

Jan.  26,  1867.  60  5sch  6,000 

Feb.  23,  1867.  2,000  4/4sch  200,000 
June  11,  1867.  100  5sch  10,000 

Aug.  24,  1867.  1,200  4/4sch  120,000 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  altogether 
1.. "jo, ooo  4/4sch  stamps  were  printed  and 
56,000  of  the  5sch. 

The  5sch  is  known  on  a  distinctly 
thick  paper  and  as  this  is  little  rarer  than 
the  normal  variety  it  would  seem  that 
more  than  one  of  the  supplies  mentioned 
above  were  on  this  paper.  Both  values 
may  be  found  in  quite  a  number  of 
shades.  The  specialist  can  sub-divide 
the  ordinary  paper  into  two  varieties — 
one  having  a  close  texture  like  that  used 
in  1856  and  the  other  having  a  coarse 
web  like  that  used  for  the  issue  of  the 
rouletted  4/4sch  original  type,  made  in 
1864. 

Reference  List. 

1864.     Typographed.       Rouletted   11%. 
.">.     4/4sch  red,  Scott's  No.  5. 
*;.     Hsch  bistre,  Scott's  No.  6  or  No.  6a. 


THE  FOURTH  ISSUE. 

In  September,  1865,  the  3  schillinge  ap- 
peared rouletted  ll1/?  like  the  other 
values.  The  original  plate  of  1856  was 
used  so  that  the  stamps  have  smaller 
margins  than  those  of  the  5sch  of  the 
last  issue  which  were  printed  in  sheets 
of  100.  A  supply  consisting  of  800 
sheets,  or  96,000  stamps  was  delivered 
on  August  16th.  There  was  little  room 
for  the  roulette  lines,  the  size  of  the 


completed  stamps  being  23mm.  square. 
When  a  new  supply  was  required  in  1867 
the  plate  was  reconstructed  so  that  it 
contained  100  stamps  like  that  of  the 
4/4sch  and  5sch.  These  were  so  spaced 
that  the  stamps  now  measure  a  trifle 
more  than  24  mm.  square.  Two  print- 
ings, each  of  20,000  stamps,  were  made 
and  these  were  delivered  on  July  llth 
and  August  24th,  1867,  respectively. 

Reference  List. 

1865.     Typographed.     Rouletted   11%. 

7.     3sch  yellow,  Scott's  No.  8  or  No.  8a. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

Although,  as  we  have  shown  in  our 
introductory  notes,  there  was  consider- 
able need  for  a  2  schillinge  stamp  the 
first  supply  of  this  value  was  not  issued 
until  October,  1866.  In  design  it  is  simi- 
lar to  the  3sch  and  5sch  but  with,  of 
course,  the  numerals  "2"  in  the  angles. 
The  plate  consisted  of  the  100  electro- 
types then  usual  and  the  first  supply  con- 
sisted of  500  sheets,  or  50,000  stamps. 
These  were  printed  in  purple  and  the 
supply  lasted  until  September,  1867, 
when  another  batch  of  200  sheets  (20,000 
stamps)  was  ready  for  issue.  This  sec- 
ond lot  provides  two  shades — grey-lilac 
and  bluish  lilac.  One  of  the  electrotypes 
was  slightly  damaged,  the  ball  of  the  "2" 
in  the  upper  right  hand  corner  being 
knocked  off  providing  a  minor  variety. 

Reference  List. 

1866-67.     Typographed.     Rouletted   11%. 
8.     2sch   lilac,   Scott's   No.   7    or  7a. 


REMAINDERS. 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin  having  joined 
the  North  German  Confederation  its 
special  stamps  were  superseded  on  Janu- 
ary 1st,  1868,  by  the  general  issue  for  the 
Confederation.  Late  in  the  same  year 
or  early  in  1869  the  remainders  were 
purchased  from  the  Post  Office  by  Mr. 
G.  Schnelle,  of  Schwerin.  These  con- 
sisted of  the  following: — 
2sch  lilac,  15,000  stamps 

3sch  yellow,  18,800  stamps 

5sch  bistre,  3,000  stamps 

4/4sch  red,  '36,500  stamps 


Isch  red, 
2sch  lilac, 
3sch  yellow, 
5sch  bistre, 


Envelopes. 


26,400 

25,000 

18,700 

2.400 


The  price  paid  for  the  lot  was  $75.00 
and  the  purchaser  offered  them  whole- 
sale at  the  following  rates : — 

Isch  (4/4)  red,  $2.40  per  100. 

2sch   lilac,  $2.40   per   100. 

3sch  yellow,  $2.40  per  100. 

From  another  list  of  the  same  period 
we  take  the  following  retail  prices  which 
are  interesting  compared  with  those  now 
obtaining : — 


1856,  4/4sch  red,  imperf.,  unused  12c. 
3856,  4/4sch  red,  imperf.,  used  4c. 
1856,  4/4sch  red,  rouletted,  unused  50c. 
1856,  4/4sch   red,  rouletted,  used  50c. 
1856,  3sch  yellow,  imperf.  2c. 
1856,  5sch  blue,  used,  12c. 
1864,  4/4sch  red,  2c. 
1864,  5sch  brown,  6c. 
There  are  no  reprints  of  any  of  the 
Mecklenburg-Schwerin  stamps. 


MECKLENBURG-STRELITZ. 


The  grand-duchy  of  Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz  adjoins  that  of  Mecklenburg 
Schwerin.  Its  industries,  people,  and 
geographical  formation  are  similar  to 
that  of  its  sister  duchy,  while  its  capital 
is  Neu-Strelitz.  It  has  but  one  vote  in 
the  Imperial  Federal  Council  and  sends 
only  one  member  to  the  Imperial  Diet. 
The  existing  duchy  dates  from  1701, 
the  title  of  grand-duke  being  acquired 
in  1815.  At  the  time  its  postage  stamps 
were  issued  its  ruler  was  the  Grand 
Duke  Frederick  William,  then  a  child 
four  years  of  age. 


the  confines  of  the  duchy  was  charged 
at  the  rate  of  %  silbergroschen  per  loth, 
while  for  other  places  within  the  Ger- 
man-Austrian Postal  Union  the  rate 
was  Yz  silbergroschen.  The  computa- 
tion of  the  postal  charges  must  have 
been  difficult  at  times  for  some  of  the 
rates  were  expressed  in  schillinge  and 
some  in  silbergroschen  and,  as  we  have 
shown  in  the  case  of  Mecklenburg- 
Schwerin,  the  two  currencies  were 
somewhat  difficult  to  reconcile.  The 
stamps  had  but  a  short  life  for  on  Jan- 
uary 1st,  1868,  they  were  superseded  by 
the  general  issue  for  the  North  German 
Confederation. 


ITS  PHILATELIC  HISTORY. 

Until  October,  1864,  the  postal  affairs 
of  the  tiny  Grand-duchy  of  Mecklen- 
burg-Strelitz  were  managed  by  the 
Thurn  and  Taxis  administration.  It 
then,  if  somewhat  tardy  in  making  up 
its  mind  to  do  so,  decided  to  issue 
stamps  of  its  own  and  the  order  for  these 
was  given  to  the  Prussian  State  Print- 
ing Office  at  Berlin.  The  currency  was  a 
mixed  one,  as  both  that  of  the  thaler 
of  its  sister  grand-duchy  divided  into 
48  schillinge  was  in  use,  and  that  in 
which  it  was  divided  into  30  silber- 
groschen. A  series  of  six  different 
stamps  was  issued  five  of  these  having 
the  values  denoted  in  silbergroschen 
while  the  other  had  its  value  expressed 
as  1  schilling.  The  latter  was  intended 
for  local  letters  only  while  the  other 
denominations  took  the  place  of  the 
similar  values  which  had  been  used 
under  the  Thurn  and  Taxis  adminis- 
tration. 

The  rates  of  postage  on  single  letters 
were  as  follows: — Up  to  10  miles,  1 
silbergroschen ;  From  10  to  20  miles,  2 
silbergroschen ;  Over  20  miles,  3  silber- 
groschen. Local,  or  "drop",  letters  were 
1  schilling,  the  registration  fee  was  2 
schilling,  and  special  delivery  cost  3 
silbergroschen.  Printed  matter  within 


THE  STAMPS. 

The  stamps  were  first  issued  on  Octo- 
ber 1st,  1864,  and  of  the  six  values  com- 
prised in  the  set  three  were  of  one  de- 
sign and  three  of  another.  The  central 
design  on  the  Y±  sgr,  Ys  sgr  and  1  schil- 
ling consists  of  a  rectangle  of  solid 
color  on  which  the  Arms  of  Mecklen- 
burg, a  bull's  head  on  a  shield  sur- 
mounted by  a  grand-ducal  coronet,  are 
embossed  in  white.  On  the  frame  the 
inscriptions  are  shown  in  colored  let- 
ters on  an  engine  turned  ground,  while 
in  each  of  the  four  corners  the  numer- 
als of  value  are  shown  in  white  on 
square  blocks  of  solid  color.  The  in- 
scriptions are  "MECKLENB."  on  the 
left,  "STRELITZ"  on- the  right,  "EIN 
VIERTEL"  or  "EIN  DTITTEL"  on 
the  top  for  the  J^sgr  and  Hsgr  respec- 
tively, and  "SILB.  GR."  at  the  bottom 
for  these  two  values.  On  the  1  schilling 
the  top  frame  shows  "EIN"  and  the 
bottom  one  "SCHILLING".  On  the 
other  three  values  the  centre  is  similar 
but  is  on  a  solid  oval  ground.  The 
frame  around  this  is  octagonal  in  shape 
with  inscriptions  on  an  engine  turned 
ground.  These  are  "MECKLENB. 
STRELITZ"  at  the  top  and  the  value  in 


en 


words  at  the  bottom.  In  the  centre,  at 
each  side,  numerals  of  value  are  shown 
on  small  uncolored  ovals. 

The  stamps  were  all  embossed  in  color 
on  plain  white  wove  unwatermarkcd 
paper  at  the  Prussian  State  Printing 
Office.  They  were  printed  in  sheets  of 
100,  ten  rows  of  ten,  with  the  side  mar- 
gins numbered  1  to  10  corresponding 
with  the  horizontal  rows.  All  were 
rouletted  lll/2. 

How  many  were  printed  or  how  many 
different  printings  took  place  we  have 
been  unable  to  discover  but  the  totals 
were  roughly  as  follows : — 

%sgr  and  ^sgr  about  60,000  of  each. 

1  schilling  at  least  20,000. 

Isgr  and  3  sgr  about  100,000  of  each. 

2sgr  about  50,000. 


All  values  except  the  1  schilling  and 
3sgr  exist  in  fairly  pronounced  shades. 
Of  the  l/4  silbergroschen  100  sheets 
(10,000  stamps)  were  printed  in  orange- 


yellow.  This  was  the  first  supply  and 
those  printed  subsequently  were  in 
orange-red. 

Reference  List. 

Oct.   1st,   1864.     Embossed.     Rouletted   11^. 

1.  J^sgr  orange,   Scott's  No.   1  or  No.   la. 

2.  V$sgr  green,   Scott's   No.  2. 
.",.     Isch  violet,   Scott's  No.  3. 

4.  Isgr   rose,    Scott's   No.   4. 

5.  2sgr  blue,  Scott's  No.  5. 

6.  3sgr   bistre,    Scott's    No.    6. 


REMAINDERS. 

The  grand-duchy  having  joined  the 
North  German  Confederation,  a  notice 
dated  December  17th,  1867,  announced 
that  on  and  after  January  1st,  1868,  the 
stamps  of  the  Confederation  would  be 
substituted  for  those  of  Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz.  The  remainders  were  sold  in 
1868  to  a  merchant  in  Neu-Strelitz  but 
no  details  appear  to  have  been  published 
regarding  the  numbers  in  the  lot  or  the 
price  paid  for  them.  All  the  stamps 
of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz  are  consider- 
ably rarer  used  than  unused  and  speci- 
mens with  forged  cancellations  are, 
therefore,  by  no  means  uncommon. 

None  of  the  stamps  of  this  grand- 
duchy  have  ever  been  reprinted. 


OLDENBURG. 


Oldenburg  is  a  sovereign  grand-duchy 
of  the  German  Empire  consisting  of 
three  divisions.  The  first  and  largest  of 
these  is  the  grand-duchy  proper  which 
adjoins  the  North  Sea  and  has  an  area 
of  2,075  square  miles.  The  second  part 
consists  of  the  principality  of  Lubeck, 
which  is  situated  north  of  the  state  of  the 
same  name,  with  an  area  of  210  square 
miles.  The  third  and  smallest  portion  is 
known  as  the  principality  of  Birkenfeld. 
This  is  situated  on  the  River  Saar  in  the 
south  of  the  Rhine  Provinces  and  has  an 
area  of  194  square  miles.  The  total  pop- 
ulation of  the  three  portions  is  a  little 
over  400,000.  The  grand-duchy  proper 
consists  of  marsh  and  geest  (high  heath 
and  moor)  land.  The  breeding  of  horses, 
cattle,  and  sheep  and  the  keeping  of  bees, 
are  considerable  industries.  Brickmak- 
ing,  cork  and  turf  cutting,  brewing  and 
distilling,  and  tobacco  manufacture  are 
also  carried  on.  Lubeck  possesses  more 
pleasing  features  than  the  grand-duchy 
and  is  blessed  with  fruitful  soil.  Birken- 
feld is  covered  with  forests  to  the  extent 
of  40%  of  its  surface.  Here  the  cutting 


of  gems  (agates)  and  manufacture  of 
imitation  jewelery  are  thriving  industries. 
The  grand-duchy  has  one  vote  in  the  Im- 
perial Federal  Council  and  sends  three 
representatives  to  the  Imperial  Diet.  Its 
capital,  having  a  population  of  about  30,- 
000,  bears  the  same  name  and  is  chiefly 
famous  for  its  grand-ducal  palace. 

The  house  of  Oldenburg  is  one  of  con- 
siderable antiquity  and  traces  its  descent 
direct  from  the  famous  Saxon  leader, 
Witikind,  who  successfully  resisted  the 
doughty  Charlemagne  more  than  eleven 
hundred  years  ago.  Though  Witikind 
eventually  submitted  it  was  on  highly 
favorable  terms  and  he  took  the  title  of 
Duke  of  Saxony.  Two  of  his  descend- 
ants became  the  heroes  of  the  nursery 
tales  of  Germany.  One  was  Count  Otto, 
to  whom  a  fairy  is  said  to  have  presented 
the  silver-gilt  horn  still  exhibted  in  the 
museum  of  Copenhagen,  and  known  as 
the  "Horn  of  Oldenburg."  It  is  this  horn 
which  figures  on  the  stamps  of  Denmark. 
Hanover,  etc. 

Count  Frederic,  another  off-shoot, 
bravely  proved  the  innocence  of  a 


61 


maligned  father  by  undergoing  the  ordeal 
of  single  combat  with  a  fierce  lion,  which 
he  slew  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled 
diet  of  Gostar,  presided  over  by  the 
Emperor,  Henry  IV.  From  this  young 
hero's  heirs  springs  the  ducal  house  of 
Oldenburg  and  his  prowess  is  fittingly 
commemorated  by  the  inclusion  of  a  lion 
rampant  on  the  ducal  coat-of-anns. 
Christian,  the  Warlike,  his  great-grand- 
son, built  a  castle  near  the  ancient  city  of 
Oldenburg  in  1180  and  -thereafter  took 
for  his  title  Count  of  Oldenburg.  In 
1570,  Anthony,  the  reigning  Count,  willed 
a  transfer  of  his  dominions  to  the  king 
of  Denmark  and  the  Dukes  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein,  in  the  case  of  the  extinction  of 
his  male  posterity. 

In  1667  the  country  actually  fell  into 
the  possession  of  Denmark,  then  repre- 
sented by  the  house  of  Holstein  Gottorp, 
the  elder  branch  of  the  Oldenburg  family. 
On  the  accession  of  that  branch  to  the 
Russian  throne  Denmark  received  Old- 
enburg in  exchange  for  the  Schleswig- 
Holstein  family  possessions.  The  grand- 
duke  Paul  of  Russia,  in  whom  the  Old- 
enburg states  were  invested,  solemnly 
assigned  them,  according  to  convention, 
to  his  cousin  Frederic  Augustus,  repre- 
sentative of  the  younger  branch  of  Got- 
torp and  at  that  time  bishop  of  Lubeck. 
The  emperor  of  Germany  confirmed  this 
settlement  (1777),  and  raised  the  terri- 
tory to  the  rank  of  a  duchy.  In  1803  the 
bishopric  of  Lubeck  was  added  to  the 
duchy  and,  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon  in 
1815,  the  principality  of  Birkenfeld  was 
amalgamated  therewith.  In  1829  the  .ter- 
ritory was  made  a  grand-duchy. 


ITS  POSTAL  HISTORY. 

The  postal  service  of  Oldenburg  was 
originally  in  the  hands  of  the  Counts  of 
Thurn  and  Taxis,  but  when  it  was  an- 
nexed to  the  French  crown  in  1811  that 
service  was  put  an  end  to.  When  the 
duchy  was  restored  by  the  Congress  of 
Vienna  in  1815,  after  the  fall  of  Napo- 
leon, it  provided  a  postal  administration 
of  its  own.  In  1851  it  joined  the  Ger- 
man-Austrian Postal  Union  and,  as  one 
of  the  rules  of  the  Union  required  the 
adoption  of  postage  stamps  by  the  con- 
tracting states,  Oldenburg  immediately 
made  preparation  for  the  issue  of  suit- 
able labels.  The  postal  rates  required 
three  values — 1,  2,  and  3  silbergroschen 
respectively,  and  these  were  somewhat 
difficult  to  express  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  currency,  like  that  of  Bremen,  con- 
sisted of  a  thaler  of  72  grote,  each  of 


which  was  divided  into  5  schwaren.  In 
the  other  countries  belonging  to  this 
Postal  Union  the  thaler  was  divided  into 
30  silbergroschen.  It  was  decided  to  ex- 
press the  values  in  fractions  of  a  thaler, 
1  silbergroschen  (1/30  thaler)  being 
equal  to  2  2/5  grote;  2  silbergroschen 
(1/15  thaler)  being  equal  to  4  4/5  grote; 
and  3  silbergroschen  (1/10  thaler)  be- 
ing equal  to  7  1/5  grote.  These  three 
stamps  were  first  placed  on  sale  on  Janu- 
ary 5th,  1852.  The  1  silbergroschen 
stamp  was  for  letters  weighing  up  to  1 
loth  (ounce)  sent  not  more  than  10  Ger- 
man miles  within  the  confines  of  the 
grand-duchy;  the  2  silbergroschen  was 
for  letters  sent  more  than  10  miles ;  and 
the  3  silbergroschen  value  was  for  heavi- 
er letters  and  also  for  those  sent  to 
points  outside  Oldenburg.  The  1  silber- 
groschen was  also  used  for  the  registra- 
tion fee  and,  from  1858,  represented  the 
single  letter  rate  to  any  place  within  the 
grand-duchy. 

In  1855  a  new  value,  1/3  silbergroschen 
or  4  schwaren,  was  issued  for  use  on 
packages  of  printed  matter  up  to  one 
ounce  in  weight. 

In  1857  the  coinage  was  altered  to  con- 
form with  that  of  the  other  members  of 
the  Postal  Union,  the  thaler  now  being 
divided  into  30  groschen  of  12  schwaren 
each.  A  new  set  of  four  values  appeared 
in  1859  showing  values  in  groschen.  The 
next  change  took  place  in  1861  when  it 
was  decided  to  dispense  with  colored 
papers  and  have  colored  impressions  on 
white  paper.  At  the  same  time  two  new 
values  were  added  to  the  set — a  J/2gr  for 
the  reduced  local  or  "drop"  letter  rate, 
and  Vtgr  to  assist  in  making  up  the  frac- 
tional rates  on  letters  to  foreign  coun- 
tries. This  value  was  dropped  in  Feb- 
ruary of  the  following  year  as  its  use 
was  rather  restricted  and  where  the  frac- 
tional rates  necessitated  it  the  next  high- 
er value,  l/2gr  had  to  be  used.  The  adop- 
tion of  uniform  colors  for  equivalent 
values  among  the  various  members  of 
the  Union  necessitated  another  issue  in 
1862  and  this  remained  in  use  until  Jan- 
uary 1st,  1868,  when  Oldenburg  joined 
the  North  German  Confederation. 

In  1853  Prussia  acquired  about  a  quar- 
ter of  a  square  mile  of  the  territory  of 
Oldenburg  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Jade  for  a  naval  port,  now  called  Wil- 
helmshafen,  for  a  consideration  of  $375,- 
000,  but  it  was  stipulated  that  Prussian 
stamps  should  only  be  used  on  letters 
forwarded  by  sea.  Prussian  official  cor- 
respondence was  forwarded  free  but  all 
other  mail  matter  passing  over  the  post- 
al routes  of  the  grand-duchy  had  to  be 
franked  with  Oldenburg  stamps.  It  is  im- 
portant to  remember  that  the  Oldenburg 


stamps  were  only  used  in  the  grand- 
duchy  proper  and  not  in  the  principalities 
of  Lubeck  and  Birkenfeld. 

By  an  agreement,  dated  August  17th, 
1845,  and  by  a  Customs  Convention  dated 
January  16th,  1864,  the  postal  service  of 
Lubeck  was  transferred  to  Denmark, 
which  then  possessed  sovereign  powers 
in  the  neighbouring  Duchy  of  Holstein. 
The  postal  revenue  went  to  Denmark  and 
Danish  stamps  were  used  there  until 
1864.  Then  the  stamps  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein  were  used,  and  from  1866  those 
of  Prussia. 

Prussia  also  had  charge  of  the  postal 
administration  of  Birkenfeld,  by  the 
terms  of  a  convention  dated  April  4th, 
1837.  Prussian  stamps  were  used  and 
Oldenburg  received  the  sum  of  $450  an- 
nually as  compensation  for  the  loss  of 
postal  revenue. 


THE  FIRST   ISSUE. 

On  December  5th,  1851,  Oldenburg 
joined  the  German- Austrian  Postal  Un- 
ion and,  as  one  of  the  rules  of  the  Union 
stipulated  that  postage  stamps  should  be 
introduced  as  "quickly  as  possible,"  the 
Government  at  once  made  arrangements 
for  the  issue  of  suitable  stamps.  The  old 
established  firm  of  lithographic  printers, 
Gerhard  Stalling  of  Oldenburg,  were  ap- 
proached and  they  submitted  a  drawing 
for  the  proposed  stamps  together  with 
an  estimate  for  the  cost  of  production. 
The  drawing  met  with  the  approval  of 
the  Government  and  it  was  returned  to 
Stalling  with  an  order  to  manufacture 
the  stamps.  This  order  was  notified  to 
the  Postal  Administration  by  the  Govern- 
ment on  December  29th,  1851,  and  on  the 
day  previous  to  this  an  official  decree  was 
published  for  a  translation  of  which  I  am 
indebted  to  Mr.  G.  B.  Duerst's  article 
in  the  Mnnthlv  Journal  for  December, 
1000,  viz.:— 
Xo.  113. 

OLDENBURG,  December  28,  1851. 
On  account  of  the  introduction  of 
postage  stamps,  and  in  consequence  of 
the  notice  of  the  16th  inst.  referring  to 
the  German-Austrian  Postal  Conven- 
tion, the  following  is  herewith  pub- 
lished :— 

Art.  i. — The  value  is  stated  on  the 
postage  stamps,  on  a  shield  underneath 
the  coat  of  arms  of  Oldenburg-Del- 
menhorst,  surmounted  by  a  crown,  in 
fractions  of  a  thaler,  and  on  a  scroll  on 
the  right-hand  side  of  the  shield  in 
silbergroschen,  and  on  the  left-hand 
side  in  grote.  Underneath  the  shield 


is    the    word   "Oldenburg."   also   in   a 
scroll. 

The  stamps  of  1/30  thaler=2  2/5gr 
— Isgr  are  blue. 

The  stamps  of  1/15  thaler=4  4/5gr 
=2sgr  are  red. 

The  stamps  of  1/10  thaler=7  l/5gr 
— 3sgr  are  yellow. 

Art.  2. — Only  letters  can  be  franked 
with  postage  stamps;  letters  with  de- 
clared value,  packets  to  be  paid  for  on 
delivery,  samples  and  wrappers  (news- 
papers?) are  excepted. 

Art.  3. — The  correct  amount  for  the 
prepayment  of  the  postage  according 
to  the  tabulated  tariffs  must  be  affixed 
in  postage  stamps  on  the  address  side 
of  the  letter  in  the  upper  left-hand  cor- 
ner; this  can  be  done  by  moistening 
the  adhesive  matter  which  is  found  on 
the  back  of  the  stamps,  and  pressing 
them  on  the  letters.  If  the  stamps 
have  dropped  off  the  letters  are  con- 
sidered as  not  franked. 

Art.  4. — On  letters  which  have  not 
been  franked  sufficiently  by  the  senders 
the  underpaid  amount  will  be  marked 
and  collected  from  the  addressee.  If 
the  sender  has  affixed  more  stamps 
than  required  by  the  tariff  he  will  have 
to  bear  the  loss. 

Art.  5. — Letters  franked  with  stamps 
can  be  posted  like  unfranked  letters 
in  letter  boxes ;  registered  letters  must 
be  handed  in  over  the  counter. 

Art.  6. — Refers  to  imitators  and 
forgers  of  postage  stamps. 

Art.  7. — Postage  stamps  can  be 
bought  at  all  post  offices  from  the  5th 
of  January,  1852. 

(Signed)  MUTZENBECHER, 

Barnstedt. 

At  the  same  time  as  the  foregoing  doc- 
ument was  distributed  a  "letfter  of  instruc- 
tions" was  sent  to  the  various  postmas- 
ters and  for  the  translation  of  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  items  I  am  again  in- 
debted to  Mr.  Duerst. 

If  sufficient  postage  has  not  been 
affixed  in  stamps,  the  despatching  post 
office  must  mark  the  deficiency  on  the 
address  side  of  the  letter  and  debit  the 
receiving  office,  which  must  collect  the 
amount  from  the  addressee. 

All  letters  must  be  postmarked  with 
name  dies  as  before.  If  a  stamp  be 
recognized  as  forged,  the  letter  must 
be  sent  to  the  head  office.  Each  stamp 
must  be  cancelled  separately.  The 
number  of  the  cancellation  die  must  be 
completely  imprinted  on  the  stamp  it- 
self. Each  office  has  a  die,  consisting 
of  four  concentric  circles,  containing  a 
number  in  the  centre.  Each  office  will 
receive  a  different  number  as  per  the 
enclosed  list. 


The  despatching  office  will  be  lined 
five  times  the  amount  of  any  not  suffi- 
ciently obliterated  stamp. 
The  "dies"  referred  to  above  are  the 
cancellation  stamps. 

The  same  design  served  for  all  three 
values  and  this  has  a  strong  resemblance 
to  that  adopted  for  the  first  issue  of 
Hanover.  Writing  in  the  Stamp  Collec- 
tor's Magazine  in  1874  with  regard  to 
these  stamps  Mr.  Overy  Taylor  said, 
"The  early  issues  of  Oldenburg  are  re- 
markable for  their  neatness  and  finish. 
They  have  the  same  kind  of  artistic 
primness  as  their  Hanoverian  contem- 
poraries. There  is  the  same  combina- 
tion, at  any  rate  in  the  first  series,  of 
the  useful  numeral  of  value  with  the 
decorative  coat  of  arms ;  and  there  is 
the  same  peculiarity  noticeable  in  them 
as  in  many  of  the  other  old  German 
stamps — they  are  rigidly  rectangular. 
Whatever  vagaries  of  ornamentation 
may  be  allowed  in  the  centre  of  the 
German  stamps  of  the  ante-Prussian 
days,  their  exterior  border  is  always 
composed  of  a  neatly  ruled  double-lined 
rectangle.  Other  stamps  might  take 
oval,  octagonal,  hexagonal,  or  sinuous 
edged  frames,  the  German  engravers 
stuck  fast  to  their  four-sided  ideal;  and 
it  must  be  admitted  that  their  produc- 
tions are  not  lacking  in  a  certain  grave 
and  well-balanced  appropriateness.  The 
first  Oldenburg  type  is  an  example  in 
point.  The  arms  are  very  carefully 
and  clearly  drawn,  though  on  a  small 
scale ;  the  shield,  containing  the  value 
is  fancifully  designed ;  and  the  scroll, 
which  frames  it  on  three  sides,  falls  in 
graceful  folds;  whilst  the  subordinate 
foliate  ornaments  and  shading  relieve 
and  harmonise  with  the  prominent  fea- 
tures." 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  arms  on 
the  mantle  and  coronet  above  are  the 
ducal  and  not  the  grand-ducal  ones. 

The  design  for  each  value  was  en- 
graved separately  so  that  there  are  many 
differences  apart  from  those  of  the  facial 
values.  The  engravings  were  made  on 
stone  and  from  these  transfers  were 
taken  on  specially  prepared  paper  and 
laid  down  on  the  printing  stone  in  ten 
rows  of  ten.  An  exact  description  of 
the  process  followed  is  given  in  a  letter 
dated  January  24th,  1859,  which  was 
sent  by  the  Oldenburg  postoffice  to  the 
Postal  Administration  of  Luxemburg  in 
reply  to  the  latter's  enquiry  as  to  the 
method  and  cost  of  manufacturing  post- 
age stamps.  Mr.  Duerst  translates  the 
important  part  -of  this  letter  as  follows : 
One  drawing  of  the  stamp  is  made 
with  a  diamond  point  and  a  steel 
needle  on  a  hard,  well-polished,  blue 


lithographed  stone,  and  as  many  copies 
are  taken  on  prepared  Chinese  paper 
as  there  are  to  be  stamps  on  the  plate 
(in  this  case  100).  These  are  then 
fixed  in  straight  lines  on  paper,  (in 
this  instance  in  ten  rows  of  ten),  and 
transferred  in  this  form  to  another 
stone.  After  these  transfers  have 
been  retouched  the  plate  is  ready  for 
printing. 

There  are  three  generally  recognized 
varieties  of  type  of  the  1/30  and  1/15 
thaler  values  and  though  Scott's  cata- 
logue does  not  differentiate  between 
them  it  is  as  well  to  know  how  to 
identify  them  as  some  are  rarer  than 
others. 

The  three  varieties  of  the  1/30  thaler 
may  be  distinguished  as  follows : — 

Type  I. — The  ornament  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  shield  joins  the  left  stroke 
of  the  H  of  THALER. 

Type  II. — The  ornament  does  not 
touch  the  H  but  is  1  mm.  distant  from 
that  letter. 

Type  III. — The  ornament  is  rounded 
and  still  farther  away  from  the  letter  H. 
The  accompanying  illustrations  should 
clearly  demonstrate  the  differences. 
Types  I  and  III  are  about  equal  in  value 
while  type  II  is  three  times  as  rare  as 
the  others. 

The  distinguishing  marks  of  the  three 

types  of  the  1/15  thaler  are  as.follows: — 

Type  I.— The  letter  H  of  THALER  is 

well  above  the  indentation  of  the  shield. 

Type  II.— The  letter  H  almost  touches 

the  indentation  of  the  shield. 

Type  III. — This  is  similar  to  type  IT 
but  the  bottom  portion  of  the  mantle 
(below  the  arms)  is  fully  shaded. 

In  this  value  type  I  is  a  little  com- 
moner than  the  other  two.  Of  these 
three  varieties  of  each  value  the  late 
Mr.  W.  A.  S.  Westoby  stated  that  the 
first  two  in  each  case  represented  diff- 
erent drawings  on  the  matrix  stone  and 
that  the  third  "may  be  only  a  retouch." 
Capt.  P.  Ohrt,  whose  writings  formed 
the  ground  for  Mr.  Duerst's  translation, 
states  positively  that  there  were  only 
two  separate  drawings  of  each,  the  sec- 
ond one  being  made  owing  to  a  fear  that 
the  original  one  might  be  worn  out  with 
constant  use.  While  he  mentions  the 
third  type  of  each  his  theory  of  how  they 
were  caused  is  too  vague  to  be  of  any 
value.  How  many  stones  were  made 
for  each  value  does  not  appear  to  be 
known.  In  fact,  taking  it  as  a  whole, 
the  published  information  regarding  this 
issue  is  far  from  satisfactory  and  these 
three  stamps  form  a  fine  field  for  origi- 
nal research  for  a  collector,  with  the 
time,  means,  and  patience  to  accumulate 
the  necessary  material  and  study  it 


64 


properly.  The  late  Mr.  Robert  Ehren- 
bach  stated  that  being  lithographed,  each 
stamp  on  a  sheet  differed  slightly  from 
the  others  though,  owing  to  superior 
workmanship,  he  admitted  that  the  dif- 
ferences in  the  case  of  the  1/10  thaler 
were  very  minute. 

Quite  an  extensive  range  of  shades  can 
be  found  in  all  three  values. 


Reference  List. 

1852.  Lithographed.     Imperforate. 

1.  1/30  thaler  black  on  blue,  Scott's  No.  1. 

2.  1/15  thaler  black  on  rose,  Scott  No.  2. 

3.  1/10  thaler  black  on  yellow,  Scott's  No.  3. 


THE   SECOND   ISSUE. 

In  February  1855,  a  new  value  was 
added  to  the  set  for  the  prepayment  of 
the  rate  on  newspapers  and  other  printed 
matter.  This  is  very  similar  in  design 
to  the  other  denominations  but  has  the 
value  "l/3  SILB.  GR."  on  the  shield 
and  "4  SCHW."  on  the  scrolls  at  each 
side.  Up  to  this  time  all  printed  matter 
enclosed  in  wrappers  had  to  be  prepaid 
in  money  and  as  the  number  of  these 
packages  had  grown  to  a  considerable 
total  the  time  taken  in  weighing  them 
and  accepting  the  proper  fee  in  money 
often  proved  a  serious  embarrassment 
to  the  postal  employes.  In  December, 
1854,  therefore,  the  Administration  or- 
dered Stalling  to  prepare  a  stamp  of 
the  required  value  and  at  the  same  time 
the  following  official  notice  was  pub- 
lished :— 

It  was  decreed  in  the  official  notifi- 
cation of  December  28, 1851,  that  pack- 
ets in  wrappers  could  not  be  prepaid 
by  means  of  stamps.  As  it  has  been 
found  in  the  meantime  that  it  is  de- 
sirable that  such  packets  be  prepaid 
by  stamps,  the  Postal  Administration 
has  ordered  such  stamps  to  be  made, 
presuming  that  the  Government  will 
sanction  this  order. 

The  value,  4  schwaren,  is  contained 
on  a  shield  below  the  coat  of  arms  of 
Oldenburg-Delmenhorst,  surmounted 
by  a  crown,  and  on  the  right  and  left- 
hand  sides  in  scrolls,  underneath 
the  shield  is  the  word  "OLDEN- 
BURG." 


The  stamps  are  on  green,  the  im- 
pression in  black  color.  Concerning  the 
introduction  of  this  stamp,  a  notice 
will  have  to  be  published  in  the  Offi- 
cial Gazette,  which  the  Government  is 
requested  to  order. 

(Signed)   BOEDECKER. 
In  acceding  to  this  request  the  Govern- 
ment published  the  following  decree  un- 
der date,  January  30,  1855 : 

Referring  to  the  official  notification 
of  28  December,  1851,  concerning  post- 
age stamps,  and  in  alteration  of  Arti- 
cle 2  of  the  same,  it  is  hereby  notified 
that  packets  in  wrappers  can  also  be 
prepaid  by  stamps,  from  the  1st  of 
February,  in  the  same  manner  and 
under  the  same  conditions  as  letters. 
The  stamps  are  of  green  color,  with 
black  impression,  and  are  of  the  value 
of  4  schwaren. 

The  stamps  can  be  bought  from  the 
date  named  at  all  post  offices. 

(Signed)  MUTZENBECHER, 

KROPP. 

The  value  schwaren  was  abbreviated 
to  "schw"  on  the  stamps.  The  schwaren 
was  a  small  copper  coin,  peculiar  to 
Oldenburg,  worth  only  about  J^c  in 
United  States  currency. 

The  stamps  were  lithographed  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  others  and  printed 
in  sheets  of  100  in  ten  rows  of  ten. 
There  do  not  appear  to  be  any  minor 
varieties  of  importance  while  the  color 
of  the  paper  hardly  varies  at  all.  It 
would  appear  that  the  total  number  is- 
sued was  not  large  while,  judging  from 
the  present  catalogue  price  of  used  spec- 
imens, the  use  of  this  value  was  some- 
what restricted. 


Reference  List. 

1855.     Lithographed.     Imperf. 
•      4.     l/3sgr   (4schw)    black  on  green  Scott's 
No.   4. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

On  January  24th,  1857,  Oldenburg  con- 
cluded a  monetary  convention  with  other 
German  States  according  to  which  only 
the  thaler  of"  30  groschen  was  to  be 
legal  currency,  and  the  old  thaler  of  72 
grote  was  abolished.  As  the  stamps  then 


current  did  not  agree  with  the  new  coin- 
age so  far  as  some  of  the  inscriptions 
were  concerned  it  was  decided  to  issue 
a  new  series.  Matters  were,  however, 
taken  very  leisurely  and  it  was  not  un- 
til eighteen  months  later  that  the  new 
.stamps  were  placed  on  sale.  Of  such 
little  consequence  was  the  change  con- 
sidered by  the  Postal  Administration, 
notwithstanding  that  the  design  chosen 
was  a  very  different  one  from  that  of 
1852,  that  no  official  notification  of  any 
sort  appears  to  have  been  published. 
The  new  stamps  were,  apparently,  dis- 
tributed to  the  postmasters  without  com- 
ment and  were  placed  on  sale  at  each 
post  office  just  as  soon  as  supplies  of  the 
old  stamps  were  exhausted.  As  no  offi- 
cial date  of  issue  was  stipulated  we  have 
to  rely  on  dated  obliterated  specimens 
and  from  these  it  would  seem  that  the 
stamps  were  probably  placed  on  sale  in 
July  or  August,  1859. 

The  design  is  similar  for  all  four 
values  and  consists  of  the  grand-ducal 
coat  of  arms,  surmounted  by  a  ducal 
crown,  on  a  plain  oval  ground,  with 
"OLDENBURG"  on  a  scroll  above  it, 
and  the  value  in  words  on  a  similar 
scroll  below.  On  each  side  of  the  cen- 
terpiece are  small  ovals  containing  the 
numerals  of  value,  while  the  spaces 
above  and  below  these  are  filled  with 
leaf-like  ornamentation. 

The  stamps  were  designed  and  litho- 
graphed at  the  works  of  Gerhard  Stall- 
ing, and  as  in  the  case  of  the  previously 
current  stamps,  a  separate  engraving  on 
stone  was  made  for  each  value.  They 
were  printed  in  sheets  of  100  in  ten 
rows  of  ten,  in  black  on  colored  papers. 
Naturally,  as  the  stamps  were  produced 
by  lithography  minor  varieties  exist  but 
the  only  one  of  prominence  occurs  on 
the  3  groschen.  On  one  stamp  on  the 
stone  the  D  of  OLDENBURG  was  so 
malformed  as  to  more  nearly  resemble 
a  B. 

The  T/3  groschen  seems  to  have  been 
but  little  used  and  it  is  by  far  the  rarest 
of  the  series.  Tn  the  1  and  2  groschen 
fairly  pronounced  shades  may  be  found. 


Reference  List. 

1859.     Lithographed.     Imperf. 

5.  l/3gr  black  on   green,   Scott's  No.  5. 

6.  Igr  black  on  blue,  Scott's  No,  6. 


7.  2gr  black  on  rose,  Scott's  No.  7. 

8.  3gr   black   on   yellow,    Scott's    No.    8. 


THE  FOURTH  ISSUE. 

A  Post-office  circular,  dated  December 
15th,  1860,  announced  that  on  January 
1st,  1861,  coincident  with  an  issue  of 
stamped  envelopes,  a  new  issue  of  adhe- 
sive stamps  would  be  made,  printed  in 
color  on  white  paper,  the  values  being 
1A,  l/z,  l/2,  1,  2,  and  3  groschen.  The  de- 
signs for  the  1/3,  1,  2,  and  3  groschen 
were  the  same  as  those  for  the  preced- 
ing issue  and  it  is  evident  the  same 
original  dies  were  used.  Possibly,  too, 
for  the  earlier  printings  the  same  stones 
were  used.  The  two  new  values  are  a 
little  different  in  design.  The  ducal 
coronet  is  larger,  nearly  as  large  as  the 
coat  of  arms ;  and  these  are  on  a  ground 
of  solid  color.  The  ends  of  the  scrolls 
containing  the  inscriptions  above  and 
below  the  centre  are  prolonged  down- 
wards or  upwards  and  these  extensions 
fill  the  spaces  occupied  by  the  arabesques 
on  the  other  values.  How  many  print- 
ings were  made  is  not  known  but  most 
of  the  values  fall  into  two  divisions 
which  may  be  described  as  hazy  and 
clear  prints,  respectively.  The  former 
were  evidently  the  earlier  printings,  the 
result  of  lack  of  knowledge  on  the  part 
of  the  lithographers  as  to  how  to  deal 
with  colored  inks.  As  they  became 
more  expert  their  work  improved  result- 
ing in  the  clear  prints.  Quite  a  number 
of  varieties  are  found  in  the  lettering 
and  in  the  frames  of  the  l/3gr  and  3gr 
values  from  which  it  would  appear  that 
new  stones  were  laid  down  and  for 
these  a  number  of  defective  transfers 
were  used.  Of  these  varieties  the  most 
prominent  are  "OLDEIBURG,"  which  is 
found  on  both  values,  and  "Dritto"  and 
"Drittd,"  found  on  the  ^gr.  An  inter- 
esting minor  variety  of  the  Igr  is  known 
with  a  pointed  numeral  at  the  right  hand 
side.  This  seems  of  considerable  rarity. 

The  Y-2.  groschen  value  was  necessitated 
by  a  reduction  in  the  rates  for  local  let- 
ters which  had  previously  required  a 
Igr  stamp.  The  ^4gr  was  for  no  par- 
ticular rate  but  was  used  in  conjunction 
with  other  values  when  the  postal 
charges,  as  was  frequently  the  case,  re- 
sulted in  such  fractional  charges  as  Y$ 
or  Y$.  It  is  the  rarest  value  of  the  set 
in  used  condition. 

All  values  exist  in  a  number  of  shades 
the  }/3gr  and  Igr  in  narticular  furnishing 
a  number  of  distinctive  tints.  Errors  of 
the  Igr  and  3gr  are  known  printed  on 
both  sides.  The  former  was  first  dis- 
covered in  1894  while  the  latter  was  not 
known  until  some  years  later, 


Reference  List. 

1861.  Lithographed.     Imperf. 

9.  54  gr  orange,   Scott's  No.  9. 

10.  l/3gr  green,   Scott's   No.   10  or   No.   11. 

11.  i/2  gr  brown,  Scott's   No.   12  or  12a, 
1L'.  Igr  blue,   Scott's   No.   13. 

13.  2gr  red,  Scott's   No.  14. 

14.  3gr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  15. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

On  March  9th,  1861,  the  Prussian 
Postal  Administration  addressed  the 
following  circular  to  the  various  signa- 
tories to  the  German-Austrian  Postal 
Union : — 

Experience  has  shown  that  the  dif- 
ferences in  the  colors  of  the  stamps 
and  stamped  envelopes  used  by  the 
various  states  in  the  postal  convention 
make  the  ascertaining  whether  the 
correct  postage  has  been  paid  very 
difficult.  It  is,  therefore,  desirable 
that  the  stamps  and  stamped  envelopes 
of  1,  2  and  3sgr  and  their  equivalents 
should  have  the  same  colors.  In 
order  to  attain  this  the  General  Post 
Office  has  the  honor  to  recommend 
the  following  propositions  : — 

I. — The  said  stamps  to  be  printed  in 
the  colors  shown  by  the  enclosed  en- 
velopes • 

1  silbergroschen=3  kreuzer  (Rhine 
States)  =5  new  kreuzer=l>2  schilling 
(Mecklenburg)  =2  schilling  (Hamburg 
and  Lubeck)=3  grote  (Bremen)  =12^ 
centimes  (Luxemburg),  in  red. 

2sgr=6kr  (Rhine  States)  =10  n.  kr. 
=3sch  (Mckl.)=3sch  (Hbg.  and 
Lbk.)=5grt  (Brem.)=25c  (Lux.)  in 
blue. 

3sgr=9kr  (Rhine  States)  =15  n.  kr. 
=5sch  (Mckl.)=4sch  (Hbg.  and 
Lbk.)=7grt  (Brem.)=37^c"in  dark 
brown. 

II. — The  same  colors,  according  to 
the  values,  should  be  applied  to  the 
stamped  envelopes. 

III. — To  facilitate  the  operation  of 
obliteration  all  stamps  should  be 
affixed  in  the  upper  right-hand  corner. 

IV. — Proposed  alterations,  to  come 
into  force  as  soon  as  a  new  issue  is 
required. 

The  General  Post  Office  requests  an 
answer  to  these  propositions. 

BERLIN,  March  9,  1861. 
General  Post  Office  of  the  Kingdom  of 

Prussia. 

(Signed)    WEDDIGS. 

Nearly  all  the  administrations  as- 
sented to  these  proposals  and  in  con- 
formity to  these  suggestions  Oldenburg 
issued  a  new  series  in  1862.  As  the  issue  of 
1861  had  hardly  given  satisfaction,  Stal- 


ling was  asked  if  he  could  not  print  the 
new  stamps  by  some  other  process  than 
lithography.  It  was  suggested  that  the 
stamps  be  engraved  but  Stalling  refused 
to  undertake  the  work,  owing  to  lack  of 
the  necessary  facilities. 

A  requisition  was,  therefore,  sent  to 
the  Prussian  State  Printing  Works,  ask- 
ing if  they  would  undertake  to  supply 
the  new  stamps.  The  printing  works 
replied  that  they  were  prepared  to  exe- 
cute the  order  at  a  cost  of  about  $37.50 
for  the  necessary  dies  and  plates  for 
each  denomination  in  addition  to  the 
cost  of  printing. 

The  Postal  Administration  of  Olden- 
burg agreed  to  the  price  and  it  was  de- 
cided the  same  design  should  be  used 
for  all  five  values  (the  %gr  was 
dropped  from  this  series  as  being  no 
longer  necessary).  The  design  shows 
the  arms  of  the  Grand-duchy  sur- 
mounted by  a  ducal  coronet,  embossed 
on  an  oval  ground  of  solid  color.  This 
is  enclosed  within  an  oval  band  on 
which,  on  an  engine  turned  ground,  is 
the  name  "OLDENBURG"  at  top,  and 
the  value  in  words  at  the  base,  while 
on  small  discs  at  the  sides  the  numerals 
of  value  are  displayed.  There  was  no 
exterior  rectangular  frame.  The  arms 
were  engraved  on  steel  by  Herr  Schil- 
ling ;  from  this  die  Weitmann,  a  mechani- 
cian, made  a  punch  with  the  aid  of 
which  he  sunk  five  dies  of  the  Arms, 
around  which  oval  bands  were  engine- 
turned  and  engraved  by  schilling.  From 
these  completed  dies,  Mr.  Westoby  tells 
us,  "fifty  lead  moulds  were  taken,  and 
these  were  clamped  together  in  five 
rows  of  ten.  From  this  block  of  fifty- 
two  electrotypes  were  taken,  making, 
when  combined,  the  printing  plates  of 
100  stamps.  The  rows  were  numbered 
at  the  top,  bottom  and  sides,  as  was  the 
practice  with  almost  all  the  stamps  em- 
bossed at  Berlin."  The  stamps  were 
printed  on  plain  white  paper  and  were 
rouletted  in  line.  At  first  the  roulettes 
gauged  11^  but  in  1867  a  new  machine 
gauging  10  was  used.  Five  printings 
were  made  in  all,  the  dates  of  delivery 
of  these  being  June  26th,  1862,  October 
31st,  1863,  September  30th,  1864,  De- 
cember 21st,  1865,  and  January  llth, 
1867.  The  total  quantities  printed  were : 


l/3  groschen, 
]/2  groschen, 

1  groschen, 

2  groschen, 

3  groschen, 


490,000 
240,000 
2,100,000 
380,000 
380,000 


The  1  groschen  of  this  series  is  oc- 
casionally found  bisected  and  the  halves 
used  as  l/?  groschen  but  such  use  was 
never  officially  authorized, 


Shades  of  all  values  may  be  found. 
These  stamps  were  withdrawn  from  use 
on  January  1st,  1868,  when  Oldenburg 
joined  the  North  German  Confederation. 


Reference  'List. 

1862.  Embossed.     Rouletted  10  or  11 J^. 

15.  l/3gr  green,  Scott's  Nos.  16,  21  or  21a. 

16.  ^zgr    orange,  Scott's  Nos.  17,  22  or  22a. 

17.  ]gr  rose,  Scott's  No.  18  or  23. 

18.  2gr  blue,  Scott's  Nos.  19,  24  or  24a. 

19.  3gr  bistre,  Scott's  No.  20  or  25. 


REMAINDERS. 

There  have  been  no  reprints  of  any 
of  the   Oldenburg   stamps.    The   stones 


for  the  lithographed  issues  were  always 
kept  carefully  under  lock  and  key  when 
not  in  use,  and  were  defaced  when  new 
issues  were  made.  The  plates  for  the 
embossed  issue  were  defaced  at  Berlin 
on  February  18th,  1868,  and  the  original 
dies  were  handed  over  to  the  Imperial 
Museum. 

The  YA,  groschen,  as  we  have  stated 
already,  was  discontinued,  as  there  was 
very  little  use  for  it.  The  post-offices 
were  ordered  to  return  their  stocks  to 
headquarters  and  of  the  35,000  or  there- 
abouts so  returned  small  lots  were  sold 
to  various  dealers  from  time  to  time  at 
face  value  and  on  December  21st,  1863, 
the  balance,  amounting  to  4790,  were 
burnt. 

When  the  Oldenburg  stamps  were 
superseded  there  remained  on  hand 
about  46,000  of  the  ^Jgr,  45,000  of  the 
,l/2gr,  59,000  of  the  Igr,  63,000  of  the  2gr, 
and  36,000  of  the  3gr.  These  were  pur- 
chased from  the  Government  in  1868 
by  Mr.  Carl  Dinklage  of  Oldenburg  for 
$300.  Mr.  Dinklage  sold  comparatively 
few  of  these  until  1875  when  Mr.  Berrig, 
of  Hanover,  paid  him  $750  for  the  stock. 


PRUSSIA. 


Prussia  is  a  kingdom  of  the  German 
Empire  stretching  from  Russia  in  the 
east  to  Holland  in  the  west,  and  from 
the  Baltic  Sea  in  the  north  to  Bohemia 
and  Lorraine  in  the  south.  It  has  an 
area  of  134,622  square  miles  and  a  popu- 
lation of  about  forty  millions.  While 
it  is  essentially  an  agricultural  country 
its  mines  are  of  considerable  importance 
and  its  manufacturing  industries  are 
very  extensive.  It  is  also  important 
educationally  for  within  its  borders  are 
no  less  than  eleven  famous  universities. 
Prussia  is  a  constitutional  and  heredita- 
ry monarchy.  The  king  alone  exercises 
the  executive ;  the  legislative  power  he 
shares  with  the  two  houses  of  parlia- 
ment— the  House  of  Magnates  and  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  The  former  num- 
bers 310  members,  and  the  latter  433 
who  are  elected  indirectly  by  the  people. 
Prussia,  in  common  with  most  other 
Furopean  states  and  kingdoms,  has  had 
an  eventful  history  which  can  be  traced 
back  through  many  centuries.  The  for- 
;une  of  war  had  added  to  and  taken 
from  its  dominions  until  in  the 
eighteenth  century  it  suffered  so  many 
reverses  that  it  became  an  easy  prey  to 
French  domination.  Until  1813,  reduced 
to  a  shadow  of  its  former  self,  it  suf- 


fered numerous  indignities  at  the  hands 
of  the  French  which  have  never  been 
forgotten.  In  1813,  however,  with  the 
defeat  and  imprisonment  of  Napoleon, 
it  commenced  a  new  era  of  prosperity 
which  has  continued  and  expanded  to 
the  present  day.  By  the  Congress  of 
Vienna  much  of  its  old  territory  was 
restored  and  many  new  provinces  were 
added.  From  this  date  the  people  were 
imbued  with  a  new  spirit  of  nationality 
and  began  to  dream  of  a  United  German 
Empire.  The  first  step  towards  German 
unity  was  taken  when  Prussia  unite  .1 
several  north  German  State*  in  a  cus- 
toms union,  or  Zollverein,  which  was 
shortly  afterwards  joined  by  nearly  all 
Germany.  By  taking  the  lead  in  this 
matter  the  influence  of  Prussia  was 
greatly  increased.  Frederick  William 
IV  (1840-61),  during  whose  reign  post- 
age stamps  were  first  issued,  made  Ber- 
lin a  centre  of  learning  and  naturar 
science ;  but  he  refused  to  grant  Viis 
subjects  a  constitution,  and  heM  ex- 
travagant views  regarding  royalty.  The 
revolutionary  movements  in  1848,  how- 
ever, caused  him  to  modify  his  convic- 
tions. A  national  assembly  was  sum- 
moned to  meet  at  Berlin  on  May  22nd. 
1848,  and  the  king  prepared  a  new  con- 


stitution.  Simultaneously  war  broke  out 
with  Denmark  over  the  Schleswig- 
Holstein  question ;  and  Frederick  Wil- 
liam in  1849  tried  to  unite  the  German 
states  under  the  leadership  of  Prussia. 
This  attempt  to  seize  the  foremost  place 
in  Germany  was  at  once  resisted  by 
Austria,  and  for  a  time  civil  war  seemed 
imminent.  The  year  after  his  accession 
William  I  (1861-88)  appointed  Bismark 
his  prime  minister  and  minister  of  for- 
eign affairs.  The  joint  attack  of  Prussia 
and  Austria  on  Denmark  in  1864,  and 
the  conquest  of  the  duchies  of  Schleswig 
and  Holstein,  only  served  to  accentu- 
ate the  hostility  of  the  courts  of  Berlin 
and  Vienna,  and  in  1866  the  question  of 
the  leadership  of  Germany  was  fought 
out.  Ever  since  the  days  of  Frederick 
the  Great  that  question  had  awaited  so- 
lution, and  it  was  settled  by  the  victory 
of  the  Prussians  at  Sadowa  or  Konig- 
gratz  on  July  3rd,  1866.  All  the  states 
north  of  the  Main  formed  the  North 
German  Confederation  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Prussia.  But  it  required  a  for- 
eign war  to  complete  German  unity.  In 
1870  the  Franco-Prussian  war  broke  out, 
France  1-eing  alarmed  at  the  growth  of 
Prussia.  The  south  German  states  re- 
mained true  to  King  William;  France 
was  invaded  and  after  the  battle  of 
Sedan  Napoleon  surrendered.  The  war 
brought  out  a  strong  feeling  among  the 
German  states  for  a  closer  union,  and  on 
January  18th,  1871,  at  Versailles,  King 
William  was  solemnly  proclaimed  Ger- 
man Emperor.  The  tendency  in  Ger- 
many since  1870  has  been  to  make 
Prussia  more  powerful  and  it  has  taken 
a  leading  part  in  colonial  expansion,  and 
in  the  establishment  of  a  powerful  navy. 


ITS  PHILATELIC  HISTORY. 

Although  Austria  had  taken  the  lead 
in  introducing  postage  stamps  into  its 
postal  service,  and  Bavaria  was  the 
first  of  the  German  states  to  issue 
stamps,  Prussia  was  not  far  behind,  and 
by  the  energy  of  its  postal  administra- 
tion rapidly  took  the  lead  in  postal  mat- 
ters throughout  Germany.  By  a  decree 
of  King  Frederick  William  IV,  dated 
December  21st,  1849,  new  regulations 
for  the  postal  service  were  introduced 
under  which  the  rates  for  single  letters 
(i.  e.  those  weighing  less  than  1  loth  or 
Y2  oz.)  were  fixed  as  follows: — 
Up  to  10  German  miles,  1  silbergroschen. 
From  10  to  20  German  miles,  2  silber- 
groschen. 
Above  20  German  miles,  3  silbergroschen. 

Heavier  letters  were  charged  accord- 
ing to  weight ;  the  registration  fee  was 


fixed  at  2  silbergroschen,  and  a  com- 
mission of  J^sgr  was  charged  on  packets 
and  money  orders.  It  was  also  an- 
nounced that  stamps  would  be  prepared 
but  it  was  not  until  October  30th,  1850, 
that  a  circular  from  the  Minister  of 
Trade  and  Works  fixed  the  issue  of  the 
stamps  to  the  public  to  take  place  on 
November  15th,  1850.  At  that  time  the 
currency  consisted  of  the  thaler  (equal 
to  about  72c)  divided  into  thirty  silber- 
groschen, each  of  which  in  turn  con- 
sisted of  twelve  pfennige.  The  first  set 
consisted  of  four  values — 6pf,  1,  2  and 
3sgr.  The  6pf  stamp 'was  largely  used 
in  payment  for  the  charge  for  delivering 
letters.  This  charge  was  fixed  at  ^sgr 
(6pf)  where  there  was  a  post  office  and 
Isgr  for  other  places.  When  letters 
were  called  for  no  delivery  charge  was 
made.  Shortly  after  the  issue  of  these 
stamps  the  German-Austrian  Postal 
Union  was  formed  for  the  interchange 
of  correspondence  between  Austria  and 
various  German  states.  It  was  chiefly 
due  to  Prussia  that  this  Union  was  made 
possible — this  being  the  first  of  many 
progressive  steps  taken  by  the  kingdom 
in  the  interests  of  increased  postal  effi- 
ciency. On  May  1st,  1856,  a  4pf  stamp 
was  issued  for  the  prepayment  of  matter 
sent  under  wrapper.  In  1857  the  silber- 
groschen values  were  printed  by  typog- 
raphy instead  of  line-engraving,  the  mo- 
tive for  the  change  being  that  of 
economy.  In  1858,  the  first  design  was 
reverted  to  and  unwatermarked  paper 
was  introduced;  in  1861,  following  the 
accession  of  King  William  I,  a  new 
series  bearing  the  Prussian  coat-of-arms 
appeared ;  and  in  1866  two  high  values 
were  introduced  for  use  on  heavy 
packets.  In  1867  a  set  of  five  values  in 
kreuzer  currency  was  issued,  these  be- 
ing for  use  in  the  states  served  by  the 
Thurn  and  Taxis  administration,  the 
management  of  which  Prussia  had  taken 
over  from  July  1st,  1867.  On  the  forma- 
tion of  the  North  German  Confederation 
on  Jan.  1st,  1868,  Prussia  ceased  to 
issue  its  individual  stamps. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE, 

The  first  set  of  Prussian  stamps,  as 
announced  in  the  Official  Circular  of 
October  30th,  1850,  were  issued  on  No- 
vember 15th  of  that  year.  The  set  con- 
sisted of  four  different  values — 6pf,  1,  2, 
and  3  silbergroschen — by  means  of 
which  the  various  postal  rates  then 
availing  could  be  easily  made  up.  All 
four  stamps  are  similar  in  design  and 
show  a  nrofile  portrait  of  King  William 
IV,  with  head  to  right,  on  a  ground  of 


lines  cross-hatched  horizontally  and  ver- 
tically. The  portrait  is  enclosed  within 
a  rectangular  frame  inscribed  "FREI- 
MARKE"  at  the  top  and  with  the  value 
in  words  at  the  bottom.  The  side 
borders  are  filled  with  oak-leaf  orna- 
mentation, there  are  small  crosses  in  the 
upper  angles,  and  in  the  lower  corners 
are  the  numerals  of  value.  The  design 
and  necessary  dies  were  the  work  of 
Eduard  Eichens,  a  Berlin  engraver.  It 
appears  that  two  designs  were  submitted 
and  that  the  one  chosen  was  modified 
to  some  extent  before  the  dies  were 
engraved.  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote 
from  Mr.  Ralph  Wedmore's  interesting 
article  in  the  Stamp  Lover  for  May, 
1910,  on  this  point,  viz: — 

"He  (Eduard  Eichens)  made  two 
silver  point  drawings.  One  showed  a 
bust  of  the  King,  almost  full  face,  on 
a  shaded  background,  with  a  single- 
lined  rectangular  frame,  with  the  in- 
scription at  foot  1  SGR.  KPGA  (1 
Silbergroschen,  Konigl.  Preuss.  Gen- 
eral— Post — Amt),  and  the  figure  1 
in  a  triangle  in  each  of  the  upper 
corners.  The  other  showed  a  bust  of 
the  King  in  profile  to  the  right,  on  a 
black  ground,  in  a  double-lined  frame, 
with  the  inscriptions  K  POST  A  at 
the  top,  EIN  SILB  GR.  at  the  foot 
and  the  figure  1  in  each  of  the  lower 
corners.  These  two  drawings  may  be 
seen  at  the  Post  Office  Museum  in 
Berlin  by  anyone  -who  visits  that  city. 
This  second  design  was  substantially 
approved  of,  and  Eichens  thereupon 
engraved  it  upon  steel,  but  with  the 
word  POSTMARKE  at  the  top  and 
no  indication  of  value  at  foot. 

"I  have  not  seen  the  die,  which  is  in 
the  Postal  Museum  in  Berlin,  but  it 
seems  highly  probable  that  this  origi- 
nal die  was  used  for  making  the 
stanips  issued  in  1850.  In  Captain 
Ohrt's  book  on  the  stamps  of  Prussia 
the  suggestion  is  made  that  an  entirely 
new  die,  bearing  only  the  head  of  the 
King  and  the  lined  background,  was 
engraved  and  used  for  making  the  6pf, 
1,  2,  and  3sgr  stamps.  Enlargements 
of  these  four  stamps  and  of  the  4pf  of 
1856  show  very  great  similarity,  the 
only  notable  point  of  difference  being 
that  on  the  4pf  stamp  the  features  of 
the  King  are  sharper,  which  makes 
the  face  look  smaller.  A  comparison 
of  the  stamps  themselves  will  show 
that  the  lines  of  shading  on  the  4pf 
stamp,  although  much  finer,  are  practi- 
cally identical  in  form  and  position 
with  those  on  the  other  values.  The 
4pf  stamp  has  a  softer  appearance,  due 
to  the  fine  dots  between  the  lines  of 
shading,  which  themselves  are  for  the 
most  part  broken  into  dots.  Another 


marked  point  of  difference  is  that  on 
the  4pf  stamp  the  oak  leaves  are  neat- 
ly drawn,  whereas  on  the  other  values 
they  are  merely  indicated  by  dashes. 

"Failing  positive  proof  to  the  con- 
trary I  suggest  that  the  following 
method  was  employed.  Impressions 
from  the  original  die  were  taken  on 
soft  steel  rollers,  and  the  fine  dots  be- 
tween the  lines  of  shading  partially 
removed.  The  roller  was  then  hard- 
ened, and  a  rather  faint  impression 
taken  on  four  soft  steel  blocks,  one 
for  each  of  the  required  values.  The 
word  POSTMARKE  at  the  top  was 
then  carefully  erased,  and  FREI- 
MARKE  engraved  in  its  place.  The 
border,  with  oak  leaves,  and  the  lines 
of  shading,  were  then  engraved  on 
each  of  the  four  dies,  following  the 
faintly  impressed  lines  of  the  roller 
impression  but  with  bolder  effect.  The 
top  of  the  head  and  forehead  are  out- 
lined, whereas  on  the  original  die  this 
was  not  the  case,  as  may  be  seen  by 
reference  to  a  4pf  stamp.  The  figures 
and  words  of  value  were  then  added. 
The  foregoing  theory  seems  all  the 
more  probable  since  there  are  slight 
differences  in  the.  lines  of  the  hair  and 
the  shading  lines  on  the  face  in  each 
of  the  values  6pf,  1,  2,  and  3sgr.  The 
differences  are  not  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  suggest  that  each  stamp  was  inde- 
pendently engraved,  but  are  such  as 
would  arise  when  strengthening  ex- 
isting lines  on  a  die. 

"Whether  my  theory  be  correct,  or 
Captain  Ohrt's  statement  be  the  true 
one,  it  is  certain  that  dies  were  made 
from  an  original  die  for  each  of  the 
four  values  in  question,  and  that  the 
frame  with  oak  leaves  and  the  in- 
scription at  top  (and,  of  course,  the 
values  at  foot)  were  separately  en- 
graved on  each  of  these  secondary 
dies,  as  may  be  proved  by  small  differ- 
ences, which  are  common  to  all  stamps 
of  each  value." 

The  plates,  made  of  steel,  each  con- 
tained 150  impressions  arranged  in 
fifteen  horizontal  rows  of  ten  each.  The 
vertical  rows  were  then  numbered  1  to 
10  in  the  top  margin,  and  the  horizontal 
rows  were  similarly  numbered  1  to  15 
in  the  left  hand  margin,  while  in  the 
centre  of  the  right  hand  margin  the 
number  of  the  plate  was  engraved  thus, 
"Platte  No.  15".  Whether  more  than 
one  plate  for  each  value  was  used  is  not 
known  but  plates  now  housed  in  the 
Berlin  Postal  Museum,  are  numbered 
as  follows : — 

6  pfennig,  No.  7. 

1  silbergroschen,    No.    14 

2  silbergroschen,    No.    12 

3  silbergroschen,    No.    10 


70 


These  numbers  probably  belong  to  a 
series  referring  to  the  plates  made  by 
Eichens,  or  the  firm  with  which  he 
worked.  The  only  other  number  we 
know  of  is  plate  No.  13,  which  was,  used 
for  the  1  silbergroschen. 

The  paper  was  hand  made,  water- 
marked with  branches  of  laurel  forming 
a  wreath,  and  it  was  manufactured  by 
Ebart  Brothers  of  Berlin.  The  group 
of  150  watermarks  was  enclosed  within 
a  single-line  frame  broken  on  the  four 
sides  for  the  following  watermarked  in- 
scription:  "FREIMARKEX  —  DER  — 
KOENIGL.  PREUSS— POST"  (Post- 
age Stamps  of  the  Royal  Prussian  Post). 

The  impression  was  on  white  paper 
for  the  6  pfennige  and  on  colored  pa- 
per for  the  other  denominations.  There 
are  fairly  well  marked  shades  of  the  6pf 
and  3sgr  values,  but  the  other  differ 
hardly  at  all. 

Mr.  Wedmore  tells  us  "the  stamps 
were  printed  in  hand  presses,  the  print- 
ing plates  being  warmed  and  the  paper 
damped.  The  sheets  of  stamps  printed 
from  warmed  plates  were  ready  for 
gumming  24  hours  later,  without  tmder- 
going  any  special  drying  process.  The 
gum  consisted  of  two  parts  arabic,  y\ 
parts  dextrine,  and  l/±  part  animal  glue. 
with  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of 
white  lead,  and  was  applied  by  hand 
with  a  soft  wide  brush.  The  sheets 
were  laid  between  boards,  which  had 
narrow  strips  of  wood  at  either  end  to 
keep  each  layer  apart  until  they  were 
dry,  and  then  placed  between  warmed 
millboards  and  put  in  a  press  for  several 
hours  to  flatten  them." 

As  the  State  Printing  Office  did  not 
exist  until  January  1st,  1853,  the  early 
supplies  of  these  stamps  were  printed 
under  contract  by  a  Berlin  copper-plate 
printer  whose  name  seems  to  be  un- 
known. 

The  State  Printing  Office  soon  be- 
came a  very  important  establishment  and 
in  subsequent  years  printed  stamps  for 
many  of  the  German  States  as  well  as 
those  of  Prussia  itself.  In  many  cases, 
too,  the  emissions  of  Prussia  served  as 
a  guide  and  pattern  as  to  color  and 
value  for  the  issues  of  many  of  its 
neighbours.  To  quote  from  a  short  ar- 
ticle in  the  Stamp  Collectors'  Magazine 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Overy  Taylor,  "in 
matters  postal  Berlin  was  the  capital  of 
Germany  long  before  she  assumed  that 
position  politically,  and  it  is  to  the 
credit  of  the  Prussian  administration 
that  for  a  long  period  it  vindicated  its 
right  to  direct  the  postal  service  of  the 
Confederation  by  the  intelligence  with 
which  it  seized  on  improvements  and 
led  the  way  in  every  useful  innovation." 


Reference  List, 
1850.     Wmk.  Laurel  wreath.     Imperf. 

1.  6pf  vermilion,  Scott's  No.  2  or  2a. 

2.  Isgr  black  on  rose,  Scott's  No.  3. 

3.  2sgr  black  on  blue,  Scott's  No.  4. 

4.  3sgr  black  on  yellow,  Scott's  No.  5  or  5a. 


THE  SECOND  ISSUE. 

A  Ministerial  order  of  April  llth, 
1856,  reduced  the  tariff  on  printed 
matter,  etc.,  sent  under  open  wrapper  to 
4  pfennige  and  on  May  1st  a  stamp  of 
this  denomination  was  placed  on  sale. 
The  design  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
values  of  1850  and  it  is  evident  the  same 
original  die  was  employed  for  the  por- 
trait. Mr.  Wedmore  tells  us: — 

"The  dies  and  printing  plates  were 
produced  in  the  same  manner  as  be- 
fore, the  original  die  of  the  head  of 
King  Frederick  William  IV.  with  the 
word     POSTMARKE     being     used. 
Roller  transfers  were  made  on  a  steel 
die,    and    the    word    POSTMARKE 
erased  and  FREIMARKE  inserted  in 
the   upper   label.     In   the   Museum  at 
Berlin  this  steel  die  may  be  seen  bear- 
ing four  impressions  from  the  original 
die.     On    three    of    them    the    word 
POSTMARKE  is  partially  erased,  and 
the  fourth  is  completed  and  was  used 
for  making  the  plates  for  this  value. 
The  figures  and  words  denoting  the 
value  were  engraved,  most  probably, 
by  Schilling,  who  had  been  employed 
by  the  State  since  1851  to  engrave  the 
dies  of  the  envelope  stamps.    A  com- 
parison   with    the    y2    groschen    value 
shews    considerable    variation    in    the 
size   of  the   lettering,   which   tends   to 
prove  that  this  was  not  the  work  of 
Eichens.     It  will  also  be  observed  that 
on  this   stamp  the  value  is  given   as 
VIER  PFENNIArGE  and  not  PFEN- 
NIGE as  on  the  6pf  stamps." 
There   were   at   least   two   plates    for 
this  value  and  though  these  were  num- 
bered   in    the    right    hand    margin,    the 
words  "PLATTE  No."  and  the  numbers 
for    the    horizontal    and    vertical    rows 
were  not  engraved  on  the  plates.    The 
color  varies  from  a  dark  moss  green  to 
a     pale     yellow     green.     Paper     water- 
marked   with    laurel   wreaths   was    used 


71 


for  this  value  and  the  stamps  were  is- 
sued imperforate  like  the  series  of  1850. 

Reference  List. 

1856.     Wmk.  Laurel  wreath.     Imperf. 
5.     4pf  green,  Scott's  No.  1. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

The  Government  evidently  found  the 
steel-plate  process  too  costly  and  in  1856 
it  was  decided  to  change  the  mode  of 
manufacture.  At  the  same  time  it  was 
decided  to  dispense  with  colored  papers 
for  the  silbergroschen  values  and  print 
the  impressions  in  color  instead.  The 
public  were  informed  of  the  impending 
change  by  means  of  an  Official  Notice 
published  in  December,  1856,  viz : — 

No.  203. — CHANGE  OF  STAMPS. 
The  stamps  of  1,  2,  and  3sgr,  which 
have  hitherto  been  printed  on  colored 
papers,  will  in  future  be  printed  on 
white  paper.  The  design  of  the  stamp 
will  appear,  therefore,  instead  of  in 
black  as  hitherto,  in  rose-red  for  the 
Isgr,  in  blue  for  the  2sgr,  and  in  yel- 
low for  the  3sgr. 

The  Post  Offices  are  hereby  in- 
formed of  this  alteration,  and  notified 
that  the  issue  of  such  stamps  will  be- 
gin with  next  year,  and  that  the  1,  2, 
and  3sgr  stamps  printed  in  black  on 
colored  paper  will  remain  current  until 
the  present  stocks  of  same  are  entirely 
exhausted. 

GENERAL  POST  OFFICE, 

(Signed)  SCHMUCKERT. 
BERLIN,  December  23rd,  1856. 
From  the  wording  of  this  notice  it 
has  been  assumed  that  the  stamps  were 
issued  on  January  1st,  1857,  but  no 
specimens  dated  earlier  than  June  ap- 
pear to  have  been  found.  The  design 
is  very  similar  to  that  of  the  first  issue 
and  it  is  evident  there  was  no  official 
intention  of  changing  the  type.  The 
portrait  of  the  King  was  engraved  on 
wood  by  Schilling,  the  background  be- 
ing solid  instead  of  lined  as  before. 
The  frame  resembles  the  former  issue 
and  has  similar  inscriptions.  The  ex- 
pression on  the  king's  portrait  differs 
considerably  from  that  of  the  1850  type, 
the  sleepy  appearance  of  the  first  having 
given  place  to  a  nervous  dilletante  ex- 
pression in  the  second.  The  oak  leaves 
at  the  sides  are  more  clearly  defined  and 
there  is  a  colon  instead  of  a  period 
after  "SILBERGR:",  this  being,  of 
course,  the  correct  abbreviation  for 
"silbergroschen." 

From  the  original  boxwood  die  en- 
graved by  Schilling  three  subsidiary  dies 
were  struck  and,  the  necessary  details 


of  value  being  added  to  these,  150  elec- 
trotypes of  each  were  made  and  clamped 
together  in  fifteen  horizontal  rows  of 
ten  each  to  form  the  printing  plates. 
The  rows  were  numbered  vertically  and 
horizontally  in  the  margins  on  all  four 
sides  but  whether  the  plates  bore  dis- 
tinctive numbers  or  not  is  unknown. 
The  3sgr  plate  was  ready  first  and  trial 
impressions  were  made  in  rose,  blue,  and 
yellow.  As  these  sheets  were  gummed 
it  was  for  a  time  presumed  the  rose  and 
blue  stamps  were  errors  of  color  but  we 
now  know  they  were  only  proofs. 

The  stamps  were  printed  on  plain 
white  wove  paper  and,  as  a  safeguard 
against  forgery  in  the  absence  of  water- 
mark, this  received  a  colorless  network 
impression  from  a  preparation  of  car- 
bonate of  lead  before  printing.  This 
network  can  be  made  visible  by  washing 
the  stamps  with  a  solution  of  hydric 
sulphide,  or  more  permanently  and  with 
less  danger  of  discoloring  the  paper  by 
the  fumes  of  sulpheretted  hydrogen 
which  Mr.  Wedmore  describes  as  "a 
very  evil  smelling  compound."  The  gum 
is  whiter  than  that  previously  used,  but 
coarser  and  much  more  inclined  to 
crack. 

A  die  for  the  4pf  in  this  type  was  pre- 
pared and  proofs  in  green  are  known 
but  this  value  was  never  issued. 

Reference  List. 
1857.     No  watermark.     Imperf. 

6.  Isgr  rose,  Scott's  No.  6. 

7.  2sgr  blue,  Scott's  No.  7  or  No.  7a. 

8.  3sgr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  8  or  No.  8a. 


THE  FOURTH  ISSUE. 

In  1858  the  design  of  the  1,  2,  and  3 
silbergroschen  values  was  modified,  and 
the  new  stamps  began  to  appear  in  Sep- 
tember, being  placed  on  sale  as  the 
stocks  of  the  former  issue  became  ex- 
hausted in  the  various  post  offices.  A  4 
pfennige  value  of  similar  type  was  issued 
in  1859.  The  modification  consisted  in 
the  alteration  of  the  background,  which 
was  cross-hatched  horizontally  and  ver- 
tically in  a  similar  manner  to  the  line- 
engraved  stamps  of  the  first  issue.  Why 
the  change  was  made  is  somewhat  of  a 
mystery  unless  the  authorities  presumed 
that  the  cancellation  hardly  showed  with 
sufficient  distinctness  against  the  solid 
background  of  the  preceding  series. 
Little  is  known  as  to  the  method  of 
manufacture  of  these  stamps  but  Mr. 
Wedmore  tells  us  that  "a  comparison 
with  the  stamps  of  the  last  issue  shows 
that  an  impression  was  taken  from  the 
same  wood-block,  the  background  then 
lined,  and  the  denomination  of  values, 


72 


both  figures  and  words,  separately  en- 
graved for  each  value  of  the  series.  The 
shape  of  the  letters  and  figures  differs 
slightly  from  those  of  the  previous  issue." 

All  four  values  were  printed  typo- 
graphically from  electrotyped  plates 
composed  of  150  impressions  in  fifteen 
horizontal  rows  of  ten.  The  rows  were 
numbered  on  the  margins  as  in  the  case 
of  the  1857  issue.  They  were  printed 
on  unwatermarked  paper,  on  which  the 
invisible  network  had  been  previously 
printed.  There  are  several  fairly  pro- 
nounced shades  of  all  denominations. 

In  .»iay,  1860,  a  new  printing  of  the  6 
pfennige  value  was  made  from  the 
original  plate  or  plates  of  1850.  As 
these  are  on  unwatermarked  paper,  how- 
ever, thev  cannot  be  confused  with  the 
series  of  1850.  The  paper  for  these 
stamps  was  also  previously  printed  with 
the  colorless  network.  Pale  and  deep 
shades  of  this  value  may  be  found. 

Reference  List. 

1858-60.     No  watermark.     Imperf. 
9.     4pf  green,  Scott's  No.  9. 

10.  6pf  vermilion,  Scott's  No.  10. 

11.  Ispr  rose,   Scott's   No.  11. 

12.  2sgr  blue,  Scott's  No.  12  or  No.  12a. 

13.  3sgr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  13  or  No.  13a. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

King  Frederick  William  IV  died  on 
January  2nd,  1861  and  was  succeeded  by 
the  Emperor  William  I  who  early  de- 
cided his  portrait  should  not  figure  on 
the  postage  stamps  by  publishing  a  cab- 
inet order  under  date  of  February  17th, 
1861,  decreeing  that  for  the  new  series 
of  stamps  the  Prussian  coat-of-arms 
should  be  used.  Economy  may  have  had 
something  to  do  with  his  decision  for 
the  new  types  were  common  to  both  ad- 
hesives  and  envelopes.  The  issue  con- 
sisted of  the  same  values  as  those  pre- 
viously in  use  and  there  were  two  types 
— one  for  the  pfennige  values  and  the 
other  for  the  silbergroschen  denomina- 
tions. The  design  consists  of  a  small 
oval  of  solid  color  containing  a  Prussian 
eagle,  with  outspread  wings,  having  on 
its  breast  a  small  shield  on  which  the 
letters  "F.  R."  (for  Frederick  Rex)  are 
inscribed.  The  frames  for  the  4  and 
6pf  are  octagonal  while  those  for  the 
other  values  are  oval.  All  are  inscribed 
"PREUSSEN"  at  top  and  with  the  value 
in  words  below.  The  method  of  manu- 
facture differs  from  that  of  the  pre- 
ceding issues  and  we  cannot  do  better 
than  quote  from  Mr.  Wedmore's  article 
regarding  this: — 

Schilling  engraved  the  eagle,  and  the 
single  lined  oval  immediately  sur- 
rounding it,  on  a  small  block  of  steel. 


This  was  then  hardened  and  an  im- 
pression taken,  which  latter  was  then 
impressed  on  two  steel  dies.  Schilling 
then  engraved  on  one  of  them  the  de- 
sign of  the  pfennige  values  and  on  the 
other  the  design  of  the  silbergroschen 
values,  but  with  no  figures  or  lettering. 
These  dies  were  then  hardened  and  im- 
pressions taken  on  soft  steel  dies.  On 
these  Schilling  engraved  the  word 
PREUSSEN  and  the  denomination  of 
value.  Two  such  dies  were  engraved 
for  5  and  6  silbergroschen  but  no 
stamps  of  these  values  were  issued. 

From  the  above  mentioned  dies  50 
impressions  of  each  value  (except  the 
five  and  six  sgr.)  were  taken  on  small 
pieces  of  lead  measuring  about  23x20 
mm.,  and  these  then  arranged  in  five 
horizontal  rows  of  ten,  each  value  sep- 
arately. From  these,  three  electrotype 
plates  of  each  value  were  taken,  and 
the  three  plates  placed  together  to  form 
one  plate  for  printing.  The  rows  were 
numbered  on  all  four  sides  as  in  the 
previous  issue,  and  some  of  the  plates, 
perhaps  all,  were  lettered  instead  of 
being  numbered  as  in  the  issue  of  1850. 
At  the  top  and  bottom  of  each  plate 
a  "needle  point"  was  provided,  which 
was  printed  in  color  on  the  margin  of 
the  sheet.  Its  use  will  be  seen  in  due 
course. 

The  printing  in  color  and  the  "em- 
bossing" of  the  central  design  was 
done  in  one  process,  in  fact  the  central 
design  was  not,  properly  speaking,  em- 
bossed, but  slightly  impressed  in  the 
paper,  which  was  damped  before  being 
put  to  press  to  make  the  operation 
easier.  The  sheets  of  stamps  were 
first  gummed  and  then  rouletted.  For 
the  gumming  the  best  gum  arabic 
mixed  with  glycerine  was  used. 

The  rouletting  was  done  in  hand 
printing  presses  in  the  following  man- 
ner. A  frame  containing  vertical  rows 
of  sharp  steel  strips  connected  by 
small  horizontal  strips,  all  with  their 
edges  filed  at  regular  intervals,  was 
placed  on  the  press.  The  frame  was 
provided  with  a  hinged  lid  or  cover. 
On  this  cover  at  top  and  bottom  were 
two  needles,  and  the  sheet  of  stamps 
was  placed  on  this  cover,  the  needles 
piercing  the  sheet  at  the  colored 
"needle  points"  already  mentioned, 
thus  ensuring  that  the  sheet  was  accu- 
rately placed  over  the  steel  rouletting 
lines.  The  cover  was  then  lowered 
and  the  hand  lever  applied  thus  press- 
ing the  sheet  on  to  the  rouletting 
lines.  Only  one  sheet  was  rouletted 
at  a  time,  and  1000  were  rouletted  in 
the  "working  day"  of  those  "good  old 
days,"  which  consisted  of  ten  hours. 
The  rouletting  apparatus  was  supplied 


73 


by   one   Sutler,   a   machine   maker   of 

Berlin. 

An  official  Circular,  dated  September 
19th,  1861,  was  issued  to  the  post-offices 
notifying  them  of  the  impending  new 
issue  and  instructions  were  given  that  the 
new  stamps  were  not  to  be  sold  until  the 
stocks  of  the  old  issue  were  entirely 
exhausted.  Though  the  stamps  were 
available  for  use  from  October  1st,  1861, 
none  are  known  with  an  earlier  date 
than  November. 

The  colors  chosen  for  the  respective 
denominations  followed  those  of  the  pre- 
ceding set  fairly  closely  with  the  excep- 
tions of  the  3sgr.  This  was  printed  in 
yellow  brown  to  conform  with  the  "color 
scheme"  adopted  by  the  German-Aus- 
trian Postal  Union. 

A  Post-office  Circular  of  March  6th, 
1865,  announced  that  a  stamp  of  3 
pfennige  in  violet  would  be  added  to  the 
series  and  this  appeared  on  April  1st 
following,  the  design  being  like  that  of 
the  other  pfennige  values.  This  stamp 
was  intended  for  use  on  printed  matter 
sent  to  Norway. 

All  six  values  may  be  found  in  vary- 
ing shades  and  all  are  known  imperfo- 
rate.  These  latter  are  proofs,  though 
postmarked  specimens  exist. 


Reference  List. 
1861-65.     No.  Wmk.     Rouletted  11^. 

14.  3pf  violet,  Scott's  No.  14  or  No.  14a. 

15.  4pf  green,  Scott's  No.  15  or  No.  15a. 

16.  6pf  orange,  Scott's  No.  16  or  No.  16a. 

17.  Isgr  rose,  Scott's  No.  17. 

18.  2sgr  blue,  Scott's  No.  18  or  No.  19. 

19.  3sgr   yellow    brown,    Scott's    No.    20   or 

No.  20a. 


THE  SIXTH  ISSUE. 

The  parcel  post  division  of  the  Prus- 
sian Post-office  dealt  with  parcels, 
money  orders,  and  insured  letters  and, 
prior  to  1866,  oayments  in  connection 
with  these  were  made  in  cash.  With  a 
view  to  saving  the  immense  amount  of 
labor  entailed  by  booking  all  these  small 
cash  items  it  was  decided  to  issue 
stamps  of  the  values  of  10  and  30sgr 
and,  according  to  an  official  notice  of 
November  24th,  1866,  these  were  not  to 
be  sold  to  the  public  but  were  to  be 
affixed  to  the  parcels,  etc.  by  the  postal 


clerks.  These  stamps  were  of  different 
types  and  also  quite  distinct  in  design 
from  all  other  Prussian  stamps.  The 
designs  were  drawn  by  Schilling  and  he 
engraved  the  original  dies  on  copper. 
These  dies  may  now  be  seen  in  the 
Berlin  Postal  Museum.  The  design  for 
the  10  silbergroschen  shows  large  open 
numerals  in  the  centre  of  a  transverse 
oval  band  inscribed  "PREUSSEN"  in 
the  upper  portion  and  "SILB.  GR."  in 
the  lower,  the  intervening  spaces  being 
filled  with  fourteen  small  Prussian 
eagles.  The  oval  rests  on  a  rectangular 
background  which  has  no  exterior 
frame.  The  ground  work,  consists  of  a 
repetition  of  the  words  "ZEHN  SIL- 
BERGROSCHEN" in  very  small  type. 
There  are  thirty-two  rows  of  lettering 
in  all  and  the  inscription  is  shown  three 
times  in  each  row.  In  the  large  numer- 
al "1"  the  word  "POSTMARKS"  is 
shown  in  small  type  and  the  same  word 
appears  twice  in  the  large  "O."  The 
design  for  the  30  silbergroschen  shows 
open  numerals  within  a  transverse  ob- 
long rectangular  frame  similarly  in- 
scribed to  the  lOsgr.  In  this  value  there 
are  10J^  Prussian  eagles  on  each  side 
of  the  frame  between  the  inscriptions. 
The  background  shows  the  words 
"DREISSIG  SILBERGROSCHEN"  re- 
peated twice  in  each  of  twenty  horizon- 
tal rows,  while  the  "POSTMARKS"  is 
engraved  in  each  of  the  large  numerals 
as  in  the  case  of  the  lOsgr.  Mr.  Wed- 
more  describes  the  manner  in  which 
these  two  stamps  were  manufactured  as 
follows : — 

The  design  was  engraved  in  positive 
form ;  that  is  to  say,  an  impression 
from  the  die  would  show  the  stamp 
reversed.  From  the  die  electrotypes 
were  taken  and  arranged  in  ten  hori- 
zontal rows  of  ten  each.  The  rows 
were  numbered  in  the  margin  on  all 
four  sides.  The  stamps  were  then 
printed  on  a  special  transparent  paper 
(not  goldbeater's  skin),  one  side  of 
which  was  painted  over  with  a  solu- 
tion of  collodium  and  gelatine  be- 
fore the  printing.  The  stamps  were 
printed  on  the  side  thus  treated,  and 
the  gum  was  then  applied  on  the  same 
side.  From  the  foregoing  description 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  printed  side  of 
the  paper  was  affixed  to  the  parcel, 
but  the  paper  being  transparent  and 
the  stamp  being  positively  engraved, 
the  design  was  visible  in  its  proper 
form  on  what  we  may  call  the  obverse 
side.  The  stamps  were  rouletted  in 
the  same  manner  as  before  described, 
but,  on  a  new  frame  which  made  10 
roulettes  in  20  centimetres.  The 
unique  method  of  production  was  the 
invention  of  a  German-American,  who 


74 


had   sold   the   patent   to   the    Prussian 

Government    some    few    years    before 

these  stamps  were  issued. 

Although  Prussia  joined  the  North 
German  Confederation  on  January  1st, 
1868,  and  in  common  with  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Union  ceased  to  issue  its 
own  distinctive  stamps  there  was  such 
a  large  stock  of  these  10  and  30  gros- 
chen  stamps  on  hand  that  the  Confed- 
eration continued  to  use  them  until  the 
end  of  February,  1869. 


numbered  at  the  ends  of  the  horizontal 
and  vertical  rows. 


Reference  List. 
J66.     No   Wmk.     Rouletted   10. 

20.  lOsgr  rose,  Scott's  No.  21. 

21.  SOsgr  blue,  Scott's  No.  22. 


THE  SEVENTH  ISSUE. 

Prussia,  having  purchased  the  remain- 
ing rights  of  the  Princes  of  Thurn  & 
Taxis  for  the  sum  of  three  million 
thaler  (about  $2,250,000),  from  July  1st, 
1867,  was  obliged  to  provide  a  series  of 
stamps  in  kreutzer  currency  until  fur- 
ther arrangements  could  be  made. 
These  stamps  were  also  used  in  that 
part  of  Bavaria  which  was  ceded  to 
Prussia  by  the  treaty  of  August  22nd, 
1866,  at  the  close  of  the  war.  Five 
values  were  issued  in  all — 1,  2,  3,  6  and 
9kr.  One  kreuzer  was  equal  to  3  3/7 
pfennige,  and  the  letter  rates  were  fixed 
at  3,  6  and  9  kreuzer  as  being  the  near- 
est equivalents  to  1,  2  and  3  silbergros- 
chen.  The  two  lower  values  were  used 
for  printed  matter,  samples  and  post- 
cards. 

The  design  is  the  same  for  all  and 
consists  of  a  Prussian  eagle  within  a 
hexagonal  frame  intercepted  at  the 
sides  by  a  large  block  for  the  numerals 
of  value,  which  form  part  of  the  solid 
background  on  which  the  eagle  is  em- 
bossed. At  the  top  is  "PREUSSEN" 
on  an  engine-turned  background,  and  at 
the  base  is  "KREUZER"  on  a  similar 
ground. 

For  the  central  design  of  the  Prus- 
sian eagle  the  same  die  was  used  as  for 
the  stamps  of  1861-65,  while  the  en- 
graving of  the  rest  of  the  design  for  the 
respective  values  was  the  work  of 
Schilling.  The  stamps  were  printed  in 
sheets  of  100,  in  ten  rows  of  ten,  and 
rouletted  16.  All  four  margins  were 


1867. 


Reference  List. 
No  Wmk.     Rouletted  16. 


22.  Ikr  green,  Scott's  No.  23. 

23.  2kr  orange,  Scott's  No.  24. 
-  24.  3kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  25. 

25.  6kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  26. 

26.  9kr  bistre,  Scott's  No.  27. 


REMAINDERS. 

The  use  of  Prussian  stamps  ceased  on 
December  31st,  1867  for,  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  the  stamps  of  the  North  Ger- 
man Confederation  came  into  use. 
There  were  considerable  remainders  of 
the  issues  of  1861-67  and  towards  the 
end  of  1868  attempts  were  made  to  dis- 
pose of  these.  The  late  M.  Moens  was 
offered  the  lot  comprising  no  less  than 
a  quarter  of  a  million  sheets  of  the 
issues  of  1861-67  besides  a  large  number 
of  envelopes  and  a  big  stock  of  the  ob- 
solete stamps  of  Schleswig  Holstein. 
The  minimum  price  was  to  be  the  cost 
of  manufacture  which,  in  the  case  of 
the  stamps,  was  2l/2  thalers  per  100 
sheets.  The  value  of  the  entire  lot  was 
estimated  at  3,000  thalers  and  as  no 
purchaser  could  be  found  at  that  figure 
the  numbers  were  reduced,  a  portion  of 
the  stock  being  sold  to  a  papermaker 
for  the  purpose  of  being  reduced  to 
pulp.  The  remainder  were  carefully 
tabulated  and  consisted,  so  far  as  the 
Prussian  stamps  were  concerned,  of  the 
following : — 

1850    6pf  270  copies. 

Isgr  19  copies. 

2sgr  13  copies. 

3sgr  38  copies. 

1856  4pf  85  copies. 

4pf21  copies  (unwatermarked 
paper). 

1857  6pf  80  copies. 
Isgr  10  copies. 
2sgr  6  copies. 
3sgr  30  copies. 

1858  4pf  88  copies. 
Isgr  79  copies. 
2sgr  64  copies. 
3sgr  61  copies. 

1861     4pf,   6pf,   1,   2,   3sgr,   30,000   of 

each. 

1865  3pf  30,000. 
1867  1,  2,  3,  6,  9kr,  30,000  of  each. 


75 


The  10  and  30sgr,  as  we  have  already 
shown,  were  not  offered  for  sale,  these 
being  used  up  as  stamps  of  the  Confed- 
eration itself.  This  lot  together  with 
about  10,000  envelopes,  and  over  270,000 
stamps  of  Schleswig  Holstein  were  sold 
to  the  late  Mr.  Julius  Goldner,  of  Ham- 
burg, for  1,000  thalers  (about  $750). 
The  comparatively  small  quantities  of 
the  1850-58  issues  were  immediately  ac- 
quired by  M.  Moens  and  it  was  not  long 
before  the  balance  of  the  stock  was  en- 
tirely dispersed. 


REPRINTS. 

In  1864  requests  were  made  to  the 
Prussian  postal  authorities  by  several 
European  governments  for  specimens  of 
all  stamps  that  had  been  issued.  As  there 
were  no  more  supplies  of  the  first  is- 
sue at  the  Head  Post  Office  (the  few 
included  in  the  remainders  were  found 
in  some  of  the  smaller  offices  at  a 
later  date,  presumably)  •  the  five  values 
were  reprinted  in  complete  sheets  from 
the  original  plates.  Regarding  these  re- 
prints Mr.  Wedmore  tells  us: — 

The  reprints  of  the  1,  2  and  3sgr 
values  were  made  on  unwatermarked 
paper,  and  can  therefore  easily  be 
distinguished  from  the  originals.  The 
colors  of  the  papers  are  almost  iden- 
tical with  those  employed  for  the  is- 
sued stamps. 

The  reprints  of  the  4pf  stamps  were 
also  on  unwatermarked  paper.  Two 
shades  are  known — a  pale  yellow- 
green  and  a  dark  blue-green.  The 
latter  is  by  many  supposed  to  be  a 
color  trial  of  the  year  1856,  but  the 
gumming,  and  above  all  the  paper, 
resemble  so  closely  that  used  for  the 
yellow-green  printing  and  the  1864 
reprint  of  the  6pf  stamp,  that  it 
seems  more  probable  that  the  blue- 
green  shade  was  printed  in  1864  owing 
to  the  yellow-green  being  of  poor  ap- 
pearance. 

The  reprint  of  the  6pf  stamp  is  on 
similar  paper  to  the  foregoing,  and 
can  be  distinguished  from  the  1860 
printing  of  that  stamp  on  unwater- 
marked paper  by  the  absence  of  the 
colorless  network.  There  is  also  a 
difference  in  the  shade,  but  I  am  not 
expert  enough  in  color  definitions  to 
describe  it. 

Small  quantities  of  these  reprints 
were  supplied  to  private  persons  and 
to  dealers  at  face  value,  and  some 
copies  qf  the  1  and  2sgr  are  known 
used  postally. 
The  total  quantity  printed  of  each 


value  was  very  small,  and  these  1864  re- 
prints are  now  quite  scarce. 

In  1873  a  number  of  reprints  were 
made  for  Julius  Goldner,  of  Hamburg, 
who  paid  a  certain  sum  to  the  govern- 
ment for  the  benefit  of  the  soldiers 
wounded  in  the  Franco-Prussian  war. 
The  quantities  of  these  were  as  follows : 
4pf  500  sheets  of  150  stamps  =  75,000 
6pf  500  sheets  of  150  stamps  =  75,000 
Isgr  200  sheets  of  150  stamps  =  30,000 
2sgr  200  sheets  of  150  stamps  =  30,000 
3sgr  200  sheets  of  150  stamps  =  30,000 
Mr.  Wedmore  gives  interesting  de- 
tails of  these  reprints  as  follows : — 

These  reprints  are  all  on  water- 
marked paper  which  was  made  in  the 
same  moulds  as  that  used  for  the 
original  stamps,  and  the  two  lower 
values  resemble  very  closely  the  genu- 
ine stamps.  The  paper  is  thicker  and 
coarser  than  the  originals,  and  the 
gum  is  thick,  smooth,  and  "glassy"  in 
appearance.  The  printing  is  generally 
smudgy,  and  the  green  of  the  4pf 
stamp  has  a  fresh,  bright  appearance. 
The  6pf  is  of  a  more  orange  shade  of 
vermilion  than  is  found  in  the  origi- 
nals. 

The  paper  on  which  the  silbergro- 
schen  values  were  printed  is  similar  in 
texture  to  that  employed  for  the  lower 
values,  and  the  gum  is  also  the  same. 
The  color  of  the  paper  employed  for 
the  Isgr  is  a  pale  wine-red.  The 
plates  were  badly  cleaned  during  the 
printing,  and  the  stamps,  consequent- 
ly, have  a  dirty  appearance. 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  2 
and  3sgr  values,  except  as  to  the  color 
of  the  papers.  That  used  for  the  2sgr 
value  has  changed  color,  so  that  the 
stamps  now  usually  appear  to  be 
printed  on  a  very  pale  blue  paper 
sprinkled  with  dark  blue  spots,  which 
shew  either  on  the  face  or  the  back  of 
the  stamp.  In  the  case  of  the  3sgr 
reprints,  which  were  originally  on  yel- 
low paper,  the  color  has  now  mostly 
changed  to  a  pale  grey,  sometimes 
with  yellow  or  pinkish  spots,  owing  to 
some  chemical  action. 

The  whole  of  the  printing  was  de- 
livered to  Julius  Goldner,  no  supply 
being  retained  by  the  postal  author- 
ities, so  that  the  Postal  Museum  offi- 
cials had  to  purchase,  in  1890,  some 
complete  sheets  for  the  collection. 

The  reprints  were  printed  from  the 
original  plates,  bearing  the  following 
numbers: — 6pf  (No.  7);  Isgr  (No. 
14)  ;  2sgr  (No.  6)  ;  3sgr  (No.  3)  ;  and 
4pf  (No.  1).  The  two  first  named 
plates  are  in  the  Berlin  Postal 
Museum,  the  others  are  no  longer  in 
existence. 


7ti 


OFFICIAL  IMITATIONS. 

In  addition  to  the  reprints  of  the 
1850-56  stamps  described  above  so- 
called  reprints  of  the  1857  issue  were 
made  in  1864  but  these  are  nothing  bet- 
ter than  official  imitations.  The  original 
electrotyped  plates  employed  in  printing 
the  originals  had  long  since  been  de- 
stroyed as  also  had  the  dies  from  which 
the  electrotypes  had  been  struck.  It 
was  necessary,  therefore,  to  make  en- 
tirely new  dies.  These  were  made  from 
a  wood-block  which  now  reposes  in  the 
Berlin  Postal  Museum  with  other  in- 
teresting relics  of  the  Prussian  post. 
Though  an  attempt  was  made  to  copy 
the  original  design  as  closely  as  possible 
there  are  many  differences  by  which  the 
imitations  can  be  easily  recognised. 
The  most  prominent  of  these  is  a  period 
in  place  of  a  colon  after  the  word 
"SILBERGR."  The  "G"  of  the  same 
word  has  no  crossbar  and  the  "F"  of 
"FREIMARKE"  has  a  projecting  line 
at  the  top  left  side. 

The  3sgr  is  in  a  yellow  tint  very  simi- 
lar to  that  of  the  originals  but  the  Isgr 
and  2sgr  are  in  shades  unlike  any  found 
in  the  genuine  stamps.  The  former  is 
bright  crimson  and  the  latter  a  laven- 
der-blue. The  paper  is  white-wove  and 
thin  and  the  gum  is  thin,  smooth  and 
white  like  that  of  the  reprints  of  the 


same  period.  These  official  imitations 
were  printed  from  plates  specially  con- 
structed and  afterwards  destroyed  so 
that  when  an  additional  supply  was  re- 
quired in  1873  they  were  printed  direct 
from  the  wood-block,  and  the  three  sub- 
sidiary dies  taken  from  the  wood-block. 
Mr.  Wedmore  tells  us  that  these  were 
printed  "on  strips  of  paper  measuring 
about  2J4  by  6^  inches.  On  each  strip 
were  printed  the  Isgr,  3sgr,  2sgr  and 
woodblock  (without  value)  in  the  order 
named,  and  impressions  were  taken  in 
carmine  red,  deep  blue,  brownish  yel- 
low and  black.  These  are  ungummed." 


FORGERIES. 

Forgeries  of  the  first  three  issues  are 
fairly  plentiful  but  all  I  have  seen  are 
so  crude  that  they  would  hardly  deceive 
the  veriest  tyro.  Mr.  Wedmore  states 
that  forgeries  of  the  lOsgr  and  30sgr 
are  also  known  though  I  have  never 
come  across  these.  They  are  said  to 
be  a  little  dangerous  though  the  eagles 
and  lettering  are  very  badly  drawn  com- 
pared with  the  originals.  The  paper 
is  very  different  being  thin  and  white 
instead  of  tough  and  yellowish  as  in 
the  genuine  stamps. 


SAXONY. 


Saxony  is  a  kingdom  of  Germany,  be- 
ing fifth  in  area  and  third  in  population 
among  the  states  of  the  empire.  It  is 
surrounded  by  Bohemia,  Silesia,  Prus- 
sian Saxony,  and  the  minor  Saxon 
States,  and  has  a  total  area  of  5,787 
square  miles.  The  population  grows 
fast  and  had  nearly  quadrupled  in  the 
period  1815-1900.  At  the  present  time 
it  has  nearly  reached  the  five  million 
mark  and  is  the  most  densely  peopled 
country  in  Europe.  The  River  Elbe  di- 
vides the  kingdom  into  two  almost  equal 
parts,  both  hilly  and  both  well  watered. 
The  predominating  geographical  feat- 
ure of  the  western  half  is  the  Erzgebirge 
(2,500  feet)  separating  it  from  Bo- 
hemia; of  the  eastern  half,  offsets  of  the 
Riesengebirge,  and  the  sandstone  forma- 
tion, above  Dresden,  known  as  the 
Saxon  Switzerland.  Agriculture  is 
highly  developed  though  most  of  the 
farms  are  small.  Saxony's  chief  inter- 
ests are,  however,  manufacturing  and 
mining.  Coal,  iron,  cobalt,  tin,  copper, 
lead  and  silver  are  all  found,  the  latter 


having  been  mined  at  Freiberg  since 
the  12th  century. 

The  people  are  in  part  of  Slav  de- 
scent, but  Germanised.  Amongst  them 
are  between  50,000  and  60,000  Wends 
(pure  Slavs).  Education  stands  at  a 
high  level,  the  university  at  Leipzig,  for 
instance,  being  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant educational  centres  of  the  empire. 
The  capital  is  Dresden,  while  the  three 
largest  towns  are  Dresden,  Leipzig  and 
Chemnitz.  Saxony  is  a  constitutional, 
hereditary  monarchy,  with  a  parlia- 
ment of  two  chambers.  It  sends  four 
members  to  the  Imperial  Council  and 
twenty-three  representatives  to  the 
Reichstag. 

The  name  of  Saxony  formerly  des- 
ignated a  very  large  tract  in  north 
Germany,  extending  from  the  Weser  to 
the  frontiers  of  Poland.  At  the  peace 
of  1495  the  Emperor  Maximilian  I,  di- 
vided Germany  into  two  circles,  of 
which  the  extensive  tract  of  country 
hitherto  called  Saxony  formed  three, 
viz : — Westphalia,  Lower  Saxony  and 


77 


Upper  Saxony.  The  last  of  these  com- 
prised the  electorates  of  Braddenburg 
and  Saxony,  the  duchy  of  Pomerania, 
and  several  small  principalities.  The  king- 
dom of  Saxony  was  formed  out  of  the 
electorate  of  the  same  name.  The 
duchy  of  Saxony,  to  which  the  elec- 
torial  dignity  and  the  office  of  hereditary 
marshall  of  the  empire  were  attached, 
was,  however,  no  part  of  the  ancient 
German  duchy  of  that  name  (which  was 
composed  of  Lauenberg  and  a  tract  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Elbe),  but  a 
Wend  or  Vandal  province,  which  Al- 
bert the  Bear,  margrave  of  Salzwedel, 
of  the  house  of  Ascania,  had  conquered 
and  left  to  his  son  Bernhard.  This 
Bernhard  received  from  the  Emperor 
Frederick  Barbarossa  the  dignity  of  Duke 
of  Saxony,  to  which  were  attached  a  part 
of  Engern  and  Westphalia,  extending 
from  the  Weser,  which  separated  it 
from  Eastphalia,  westward  to  the  Rhine. 
But  Bernhard  not  being  powerful 
enough  to  maintain  his  rights,  most  of 
the  Saxon  allodial  proprietors  became 
immediate  estates  of  the  empire  by 
which  the  duchy  was  dissolved,  and 
its  name  transferred  to  the  country  in- 
herited by  Bernhard  from  his  father, 
to  which  from  that  time  the  ducal  dig- 
nity was  attached.  The  house  of  As- 
cania becoming  extinct  on  the  death  of 
Albert  III  (1422),  the  Emperor  Sigis- 
mund  invested  Frederick  the  Warlike, 
margarve  of  Meissen,  with  the  electoral 
title  and  the  duchy  of  Saxony.  He  was 
succeeded  in  the  electoral  dominions  by 
his  son,  Frederick  the  Mild,  who  reigned 
from  1428  to  1464.  On  his  death  his 
dominions  were  divided  between  his  two 
sons,  Albert  and  Ernest,  who  were  the 
founders  of  the  Albertine  and  Ernes- 
tine lines,  the  former  of  which  still 
reigns  in  the  kingdom  of  Saxony,  and 
the  latter  is  divided  into  four  branches 
of  Saxe  -  Altenburg,  Coburg  -  Gotha, 
Meiningen  and  Weimar.  , 

In  the  war  with  France  (1793) 
Saxony  furnished  only  a  small  contin- 
gent and  took  no  decided  part;  but  in 
1806  the  elector  sent  all  his  troops  to 
support  the  kin  of  Prussia.  The  ruin 
of  the  Prussian  power  at  the  battle  of 
Jena  enabled  Napoleon  to  gain  the 
Saxons  to  his  cause.  Prussian  Poland 
was  added  to  the  dominions  of  Saxony 
under  the  title  of  the  grand-duchy  of 
Warsaw,  and  the  title  of  elector  was 
changed  to  that  of  king.  After  the 
overthrow  of  Napoleon  at  Leipzig 
(1813),  the  king  was  for  a  time  a  pris- 
oner in  the  hands  of  the  allies,  and  the 
Congress  of  Vienna  deprived  him  of 
more  than  half  his  dominions,  or  a  ter- 
ritory of  7,880  square  miles,  which  was 

handed  over  to  Prussia.    Saxony  took 


the  side  of  Austria  in  the  Seven 
Weeks'  War  (1866)  shared  in  the  de- 
feat of  Sadowa  and  was  compelled  to 
join  the  North  German  Confederation. 
In  1871  Saxony  became  a  member  of 
the  new  German  empire. 


ITS  PHILATELIC  HISTORY. 

The  German-Austrian  Postal  Union 
was  formed  on  April  6th,  1850,  and  as 
Saxony  at  once  decided1  to  join  it  was 
necessary  to  take  measures  for  pro- 
viding postage  stamps.  The  kingdom 
of  Bavaria  had  issued  stamps  in  the 
previous  year  and  the  Government  of 
Saxony  therefore  applied  to  that  king- 
dom for  information.  In  response  to 
this  appeal  the  Bavarians  sent  copies  of 
all  their  acts  and  decrees  relating  to 
the  issue  of  stamps,  together  with  spec- 
imens of  the  postage  stamps  which  had 
been  issued.  As  the  question  of  de- 
ciding upon  an  entire  issue  required 
some  deliberation,  it  was  determined 
to  make  a  start  by  providing  a  stamp 
of  small  value  for  prepaying  the  rate 
of  postage  on  journals  and  printed  mat- 
ter. This  stamp  was  the  now  famous 
3  pfennige  red1  the  design  of  which,  it 
will  be  noticed,  is  a  palpable  copy  of  the 
1  kreuzer  Bavaria.  On  June  22d,  1850, 
a  notice  appeared  stating  that  from 
July  1st  following,  articles  under  wrap- 
per destined  for  any  place  within  the 
circuit  of  the  royal  post  of  Saxony  or 
for  Austria,  Prussia,  Bavaria,  the 
Mecklenburgs,  Anhalt  -  Schwarzburg, 
Waldeck,  or  Hamburg,  must  be  pre- 
paid with  stamps  of  three  pfennige  for 
every  loth  (about  Y?.  oz.)  in  weight,  and 
that  the  post-office  had  prepared  such 
stamps,  the  sale  of  which  would  com- 
mence on  June  29th,  though  they  were 
not  to  be  used  until  July  1st.  For  the 
definite  issue  of  August  1st,  1851,.  more 
elaborate  designs  were  selected.  Vari- 
ous methods  of  production  were  con- 
sidered and  numerous  essays  were  sub- 
mitted by  J.  B.  Hirschfeld,  who  printed 
the  3pf  red.  Hirschfeld  could,  appar- 
ently, only  produce  stamps  by  the  typo- 
graphic process  and  while  this  was  con- 
sidered suitable  enough  for  the  lowest 
value,  used  for  printed  matter,  it  was 
hardly  considered  good  enough  for  the 
higher  denominations.  Consequently 
Hirschfeld1  only  obtained  the  contract 
for  printing  the  3  pfennig  stamps,  in  a 
design  showing  the  Arms  of  the  king- 
dom, while  the  contract  for  manufactur- 
ing the  higher  values  was  awarded  to 
C.  C.  Meinhold  &  Sons,  of  Dresden,  a 
firm  well-known  for  the  production  of 
engravings  by  the  glyphographic  pro- 
cess. There  were  four  values  in  aJJ^ 


78 


l/2,  1,  2,  and  3  neugroschen — showing  a 
profile  portrait  of  Frederic  Augustus 
II.  King  Frederic  died  on  August  9, 
1854,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother 
John.  Steps  were  at  once  taken  to  pro- 
vide new  stamps  and  though  these  were 
ready  by  the  end  of  the  year  they  were 
not  issued  until  June  1st,  1855.  The 
numismatic  rule  of  setting  the  profile  of 
a  reigning  sovereign  the  reverse  way  to 
that  in  which  it  was  placed  on  the  coins 
etc.,  of  his  predecessor  was  followed. 
With  the  exception  of  the  portrait  the 
design  was  altered  as  little  as  possible; 
the  values  were  the  same  and  the  same 
colors  were  used.  No  change  was  made 
in  the  3pf  value,  as  it  bore  the  coat-of- 
arms,  and  this  denomination  continued 
to  be  printed  by  Hirschfeld.  It  was 
found  desirable  to  have  higher  values 
than  3ngr  for  use  on  letters  sent  beyond 
the  confines  of  the  German-Austrian 
postal  union  and  on  April  24th,  1856,  5 
and  lOngr  stamps  were  issued.  In  de- 
sign these  were  similar  to  the  lower 
values  but  they  were  printed  in  color 
on  white  paper  instead  of  in  black  on 
colored  papers  as  was  the  case  with  all 
previously  issued  neugroschen  stamps. 

In  March,  1861,  the  head  of  the  Prus- 
sian Post-office  called  attention  to  the 
confusion  that  was  created  by  so  many 
states  of  the  German-Austrian  Postal 
Union  using  stamps  of  corresponding 
values  in  different  colors,  and  suggested 
that  all  stamps  of  similar  value,  whether 
expressed  in  schilling,  grote,  groschen, 
or  kreuzer,  should  be  printed  in  the 
same  color,  and  that  the  same  rule 
should  be  applied  to  the  stamped  en- 
velopes, which  should  have  the  stamp 
in  the  right  upper  angle,  and  the  ad- 
hesivcs  placed  in  the  same  position;  and 
he  advised  new  issues  to  be  made  to 
carry  out  these  suggestions.  These  pro- 
posals met  with  general  approval,  and 
Saxony  immediately  prepared  for  a  new 
issue.  Various  firms  were  invited  to 
submit  designs,  but  only  four  did  so  and 
the  contract  was  eventually  awarded  to 
Giesecke  and  Devrient,  of  Leipzig.  The 
new  stamps  had  the  arms  of  Saxony  in 
colorless  embossing  in  the  centre,  and 
they  are  certainly  inferior  in  appearance 
to  their  predecessors.  With  this  issue 
perforation  wras  introduced  for  the  first 
time.  The  values  were  the  same  as  be- 
fore except  that  the  10  neugroschen  was 
dropped.  The  demand  for  this  value 
was  found  to  be  exceedingly  small  and 
at  the  time  the  new  series  appeared, 
July  1st,  1863,  quite  a  large  proportion 
of  the  original  supply  of  the  lOngr  of 
1856  still  remained  on  hand.  Saxony, 
as  we  have  already  shown,  was  com- 
pelled to  join  the  North  German  Con- 
federation and  on  the  appearance  of  the 


Confederation  stamps  on  January  1st, 
1868,  its  separate  stamps  were  sup- 
pressed. 

The  currency  of  Saxony  was  the  thal- 
er, worth  about  72c,  which  was  divided 
into  30  neugroschen.  One  neugroschen 
was  equivalent  in  value  to  a  silbergros- 
chen,  but  was  divided  into  ten  instead 
of  twelve  pfennige. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

Among  all  the  stamps  issued  by  the 
various  German  States  none  is  more 
popular  than  the  first  stamp  issued  in 
Saxony — the  3  pfennige  red.  It  is  not 
a  very  handsome  stamp,  or  even  one  of 
original  design,  but  it  is  merely  a  some- 
what crude  copy  of  the  Ikr  stamp  issued 
by  Bavaria  in  1849,  as  we  have  already 
pointed  out.  This  particular  stamp 
seems  always  to  have  been  in  demand 
from  the  earliest  days  of  stamp  collect- 
ing, the  real  reason  of  its  popularity  be- 
ing that  it  was  one  of  the  most  difficult 
stamps  to  obtain  as  well  as  one  of  the 
first  used  in  the  German  Empire.  This 
stamo  was  produced  in  a  hurry  and  did 
not  receive  the  careful  consideration  ac- 
corded to  the  other  postage  stamps  is- 
sued by  Saxony  in  the  following  year. 
The  reason  for  its  hurried  manufacture 
lies  in  the  fact  that  it  was  intended  for 
use  on  newspapers  and  printed  matter 
which,  under  the  newly  formed  postal 
Convention  between  Austria  and  vari- 
ous German  States,  had  to  be  prepaid. 
If  not  prepaid,  the  packages  were 
charged  full  letter  rate.  Not  only  had 
these  packages  to  be  prepaid  but  the 
Saxon  Government  insisted  that  stamps 
must  be  used  and  payment  in  cash  was 
not  allowed.  The  design  consists  of  a 
large  open  "3"  covered  with  a  maze- 
work  pattern  on  a  ground  composed  of 
fragments  of  wavy  lines  within  a  frame 
18 1/2  mm.  square.  The  frame  is  about 
3%  mm.  wide  and  is  inscribed 
"SACHSEN"  at  top,  "FRANCO"  at 
base,  "DREI"  at  left,  and  "PFEN- 
NIGE" at  right.  In  each  of  the  angles 
is  a  small  ornament  with  a  star-like 
centre. 

The  stamps  were  manufactured  at  the 
printing  establishment  of  J.  B.  Hirsch- 
feld, a  printer  and  lithographer  of 
Leipzig.  The  original  die  was  en- 
graved in  relief  on  metal  and  from  this 
moulds  were  taken  in  plaster,  or  some 
similar  material,  from  which  Arnold, 
the  stereotyper  in  Hirschfeld's  works, 
took  casts  in  type-metal.  The  stamps 
are  not  all  of  equal  size  the  variations 
being  due  to  unequal  shrinkage  of  the 
plaster  moulds  in  drying,  It  is  also 


probable,  as  Mr.  Westoby  points  out, 
that  Arnold,  to  save  time,  used  some 
of  his  to  produce  moulds  for  others. 

It  is  probable  only  twenty  moulds 
were  made  for  the  stamps  were 
printed  in  sheets  of  twenty  in  four 
horizontal  rows  of  five.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  there  was  another  plate 
used  for  some  of  the  later  printings  but 
no  satisfactory  proof  of  this  has  been 
produced.  Lines  of  printer's  rule  were 
placed  between  the  casts  and  in  re- 
ferring to  these  Mr.  Westoby  says  they 
ran  "vertically  down  the  sheet  unin- 
terruptedly; but  the  horizontal  lines 
were  broken  and  did  not  touch  the 
vertical  lines."  Unless,  however,  a 
second  plate  was  used,  or  a  resetting 
of  the  casts  made,  this  statement  must 
be  inaccurate  for  in  a  superb  mint 
block  of  four  illustrated  in  a  German 
paper  some  little  time  ago  the  hori- 
zontal lines  are  distinctly  continuous 
and  it  is  the  vertical  ones  which  are 
broken.  The  stamps  were  printed  on 
ordinary  white  wove  paper  and  they 
are,  of  course,  not  perforated.  The 
gum  is  of  a  distinctly  yellow  hue. 

The  first  lot  of  stamps  consisting  of 
120,000  (6,000  sheets)  was  delivered  by 
the  end  of  June  and  the  public's  ap- 
preciation of  them  may  be  gauged  from 
the  fact  that  only  19,000  remained  by 
the  20th  of  August.  Two  days  later 
another  supply  of  60,000  was  delivered. 
Both  these  lots  were  ordered  orally  but 
after  that  it  was  decreed  that  future 
orders  must  be  made  in  writing  from 
the  office  of  the  Main  Postal  Treasury. 
Six  further  lots  were  ordered  and  de- 
livered as  follows : — 

Stamps   or   Sheets 

October  8th,  1850,  40,000  2,000 

November  4th,  1850,       60,000  3,000 

December  19th,  1850,     60,000  3,000 

February  22nd,   1851,     40,000  2,000 

April  3rd,  1851,  80,000  4,000 

June  17th,  1851,  40,000  2,000 

Altogether,  therefore,  500,000  of 
these  stamps  were  printed  and  delivered. 
One  sheet  of  twenty  stamps  was  sent 
to  the  Finance  Ministry  at  Dresden  as 
a  sample,  463,058  stamps  were  sold,  and 
the  remaining  36,922  were  burnt  on  De- 
cember 10th,  1851.  In  the  early  nineties 
the  sheet  sent  to  the  Treasury  was  ap- 
parently cut  up  and  the  stamps  sold 
singly  at  a  dollar  or  so  apiece. 

That  this  stamp  was  only  intended  as 
a  temporary  issue  is  shown  by  a  remark 
contained  in  the  official  notification  of 
June  22nd,  1850,  viz: — "This  form  is, 
however,  only  provisional,  and  will  be 
altered  when  postage  stamps  for  cor- 
respondence (letters)  are  introduced." 
This  stamp  was  replaced  bv  the  3pf 
green  label,  in  the  Arms  type,  on  Au- 


gust 1st,  1851,  and  it  was  then  decreed 
that  no  more  of  the  red  stamps  were  to 
be  sold  at  the  post-offices.  At  the  same 
time  the  public  were  informed  they 
could  use  any  of  the  red  stamps  they 
possessed  but  that  under  no  circum- 
stances would  they  be  exchanged  for 
the  new  green  ones.  Writing  in  the 
Monthly  Journal  for  December,  1900, 
Mr.  G.  B.  Duerst  says:  "This  is  the 
reason  why  the  3  pfennig,  red,  is  so  rare 
with  the  lozenge  obliteration,  which 
was  onlv  introduced  in  March,  1852. 
The  usual  postmark  is  the  name  and 
date  stamp,  but  the  earliest  obliteration 
was  in  pen  and  ink." 

The  stamp  exists  in  a  number  of 
shades,  doubtless  owing  to  the  many 
printings,  but  according  to  the  catalogue 
quotations  there  is  little  to  choose  be- 
tween them  in  point  of  rarity.  . 

The  stamp  is  rare  and  its  scarcity  is 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  vast 
majority  of  the  463,058  stamps  sold  were 
used  on  newspaper  packages  and  were 
destroyed  in  the  removal  of  the  wrapper. 

Unused  this  stamp  has  always  been 
considered  scarcer  than  used  but  owing 
to  the  larger  demand  for  used  speci- 
mens of  recent  years  there  is  now  little 
to  choose  between  used  and  unused  so 
far  as  market  value  is  concerned.  We 
believe  the  largest  block  known  in  mint 
condition,  with  original  gum,  is  a  block 
of  four  from  the  right  lower  corner  of 
a  sheet.  An  entire  sheet  is,  or  was,  in 
existence,  however.  This  was  de- 
scribed in  the  Monthly  Journal  in  1896 
as  follows: — "Mr.  Castle  secured,  for  a 
sum  of  about  $1500.00,  an  unsevered  and 
unused  sheet  of  20  Saxony  3pf  red. 
This  is  believed  to  be  the  only  sheet 
known,  and  is  the  one  formerly  in  the 
Friedl  Museum  of  Vienna.  Mr.  Friedl 
got  it  from  a  Castle  in  Saxony,  where 
it  was  found  pasted  on  a  fire-screen  and 
varnished  over!  Naturally  it  is  not  in 
the  most  brilliant  condition,  but  it  is  a 
unique  piece,  and  well  worth  the  price 
paid." 

This  3pf  stamp  is  one  that  has  con- 
sistently shown  an  appreciation  in 
value  and  of  recent  years  it  has 
jumped  upwards  in  price  at  an  astonish- 
ing rate.  In  1864  it  was  worth  about 
35c  in  used  condition;  in  1884  it  was 
quoted  75c;  in  1894  its  value  had  in- 
creased to  $22,  in  1908  it  stood  at  $37; 
while  at  the  present  time  Scott  has  it 
quoted  at  a  modest  $70,  Gibbons  at  $120, 
while  fine  copies  have  approached  the 
$150  mark  at  auction  abroad.  There  is 
a  suspicion  in  some  quarters  that  some 
one  is  attempting  a  corner  in  this  stamp 
— a  not  impossible  proceeding  in  view  of 
the  limited  number  available  —  and 
should  such  a  "corner"  be  successful 


there  is  no  knowing  to  what  price  this 
variety  may  yet  be  forced. 

Few  stamps  have  been  so  extensively 
counterfeited  as  this  3  pfennige,  one 
writer  alone  admitting  the  possession  of 
no  less  than  twenty-rive  different  coun- 
terfeits. Mr.  Westoby  mentions  several 
points  which  should  be  of  value  in  de- 
tecting counterfeits,  viz. : — 

In  the  ornament  in  the  corners, 
which  is  in  the  shape  of  a  quatrefoil, 
the  interior  design  is  in  the  shape  of 
a  four-rayed  star,  or  rather  a  round 
uncolored  centre  to  a  St.  Andrew's 
Cross.  In  the  left  upper  corner  orna- 
ment there  is  a  curved  line  opposite 
to  each  extremity  of  the  cross.  This 
curved  line  is  wanting  opposite  the 
left  upper  extremity  of  the  cross  in  all 
the  other  corner  ornaments,  and  also 
opposite  the  upper  right  extremity  of 
the  cross  in  the  right  upper  orna- 
ment, and  this  right  extremity  is  long, 
while  the  left  one  is  very  short,  as 
also  is  the  upper  right  one  in  the 
right  lower  ornament.  In  the  in- 
scriptions the  S  and  A  in  SACHSEN 
almost  join,  as  also  do  the  R  and  E 
in  DRIE.  There  is  a  break  in  the 
inner  line  of  the  frame  opposite  the 
I  of  DRIE.  These  are  the  principal 
tests  given  by  Messrs.  Collin  and  Cai- 
man, and  in  their  catalogue  enlarged 
engravings  are  given  of  the  corner  or- 
naments. In  the  genuine  stamps  there 
is  a  full  stop  after  FRANCO  which, 
curiously  enough,  is  absent  in  most 
of  the  imitations." 


Reference  List. 

July  1st,   1850.      No  wmk.      Imperf. 
1.     3pf  red,   Scott's  Nos.   1  or  la. 


THE  SECOND  ISSUE. 

Whilst  the  first  Saxon  stamp  had 
been  designed  and  issued  without  much 
care  or  fuss,  many  and  deep  were  the 
deliberations  before  the  permanent  is- 
sue was  decided  upon.  Various  methods 
of  production  were  examined  and  con- 
sidered; wood  engraving  was  objected 
to,  and  line  engraving  was  considered 
too  expensive.  Numerous  essays  were 
submitted  by  Hirschfeld  and  others  and 
those  of  Hirschfeld  met  with  approval. 
Before,  however,  he  received  the  order 


the  firm  of  C.  C.  Meinhold  and  Sons,  of 
Dresden,  a  firm  well  known  for  the 
production  of  engravings  by  the  gly- 
phographic  process,  made  a  proposal 
which  was  accepted  by  the  authorities. 
Hirschfeld's  design  for  the  neu-groschen 
values  was,  therefore,  handed  to  the 
Meinholds  and  the  only  order  Hirsch- 
feld received  was  that  for  printing  the 
3  pfennige  stamps.  The  3pf  value  was 
again  intended  for  printed  matter  but 
it  now  represented  the  rate  within  the 
entire  German-Austrian  Postal  Union — 
this  was  the  main  reason  for  the 
change  of  design  for  this  denomination. 
The  l/2  neugroschen  was  intended  for 
local  letters;  the  Ingr  for  letters  sent 
less  than  10  miles  within  the  Postal 
Union;  the  2ngr  for  letters  between  10 
and  20  miles;  and  the  3ngr  for  letters 
beyond  20  miles. 

The  design  for  the  3  pfennige  shows 
the  Arms  of  Saxony  on  a  shield  sur- 
mounted by  a  crown  within  an  oval  of 
solid  color.  On  a  scroll  at  top  is 
"SACHSEN"  and  on  a  similar  scroll  at 
base  is  "Drie  Pfennige."  Numerals  of 
value,  within  small  circles,  are  shown 
at  the  sides  and  the  spaces  are  filled 
with  scroll  ornamentation.  The  whole 
is  enclosed  within  a  narrow  rectangular 
frame.  This  stamp  was  printed  in 
sheets  of  120,  the  plate  being  composed 
of  casts  taken  in  type-metal  from  the 
original  die.  The  stamps  were  placed 
so  closely  together  that  specimens  with 
good  margins  are  very  difficult  to  obtain. 
The  neugroschen  values  are  all  alike  in 
design  and  show  a  profile  portrait  of 
King  Frederic  Augustus  II,  with  head 
to  right,  on  a  solid  colored  ground  with- 
in an  oval.  The  inscriptions  are  similar 
to  those  of  the  3pf  except  that  the  lower 
one  is  "Neu-Grosch.",  separated  by  the 
numeral  of  value.  Numerals  are  also 
placed  at  the  sides  and  all  four  values 
were  printed  in  sheets  of  120.  The 
early  supplies  of  all  values  were  de- 
livered by  the  printers  in  strips  of  ten 
for  some  reason  or  other.  Usually  the 
sheets  were  sub-divided  horizontally,  but 
in  some  cases  the  strips  were  cut  verti- 
cally. 

The  3  pfennige  exists  in  two  distinct 
shades — blue  or  dark  green  and  yellow 
green.     The  colors  of  the  papers  for  the 
various   neu-groschen   values  also   show 
some  variation  and  in  dealing  with  this 
matter   I    cannot   do   better   than   quote 
from  an  excellent  article  in  the  Phila- 
telic Journal  of  Great  Britain,  written 
by  Mr.  D.  C.  Gray  in  December,  1908  :— 
The  l/2  neu-groschen  may  be  found 
on  paper  varying  from   almost  white 
to  bluish  grey,  the  bluish  shades  being 
the  scarcer.     The  paper  of  the  1  neu- 
groschen    is     sometimes     deep     and 


81 


sometimes  quite  pale  rose ;  that  of 
the  3  neu-groschen  varies  from  very 
deep  to  quite  pale  yellow;  while  the 
2  neu-groschen  appears  printed  on 
pale  blue  and  very  dark  blue  paper. 
Some  of  the  shades  of  the  l/2,  1,  and  3 
neu-groschen  may  be  due  to  fading, 
although,  considering  the  large  num- 
bers of  printings  which  took  place  a 
variation  in  the  colour  of  the  papers 
used  is  not  surprising.  The  change 
of  the  2  neu-groschen  from  pale  to 
very  dark  blue,  however,  was  cer- 
tainly not  accidental,  but  was  due  to 
definite  instructions  given  to  the 
printers  by  the  postal  authorities  in 
1852. 

The  reason  for  this  order  was  that 
a  postmaster  had  complained  to  the 
head  office  that  if  the  2  neu-groschen 
stamps  (printed  in  pale  blue)  were 
much  exposed  to  the  light  they  faded 
into  approximately  the  color  of  the 
l/2  neu-groschen.  By  the  adoption  of 
the  dark  blue  paper  any  mistakes 
arising  from  such  a  cause  were 
entirely  obviated.  These  stamps  were 
all  put  on  sale  on  29th  July,  and 
were  to  frank  letters  from  1st  Au- 
gust, 1851.  The  quantities  printed 
of  each  value  of  this  set  were  as 
follows : — 

3     pfennige,     12,500,000;     l/2     neu- 
groschen,    5,100,000;    1    neu-groschen, 
5,700,000;   2   neu-groschen,   light   blue, 
700,000;    2    neu-groschen    dark    blue, 
1,500,000;        and       3       neu-groschen, 
2,350,000.     There     were     twenty-four 
printings  of  the  3  pfennige;  seventeen 
of    the    y*    and    1    neu-groschen,    and 
sixteen  of  the  2  and  3  neu-groschen. 
By  far  the  rarest  stamp  of  Saxony  is, 
pf  course,  the   y*   neu-groschen  printed 
in  error  on  the  pale  blue  paper  of  the 
2  neu-groschen.     The   existence  of   this 
error  seems  to  have  been  quite  unknown 
until   Dr.   Kloss  published  his  "History 
of    the    Stamps    of    the    Kingdom    of 
Saxony"  in  1883  or  1884.     According  to 
Dr.   Kloss   "On  August  22nd,   1851,   the 
Post-office   at   Leipzig   informed   the   G. 
P.  O.  at  Dresden,  that  they  had  found 
a   quantity   of   stamps    among   the   2ngr 
blue    which    had,    instead    of    '2    Neu- 
groschen,'     the      inscription      '^      neu- 
groschen'  although  printed  in  the  correct 
color  of  the  2ngr  stamps,  viz.,  blue.     On 
referring   to   the    printers'    statement    it 
was    found   that  only   120   stamps   were 
printed  in  this  color  by  mistake,  63  of 
these  were  sold  over  the  counter  before 
the  mistake  was  found  out,  the  remain- 
ing 57   were   returned   to   the   G.   P.   O. 
at  Dresden."     There  is  little  doubt  that 
the  63   stamps   which   were  sold  to  the 
public,  were  sold  as  2ngr  stamps,  whose 
color  they  bore,  and  they  were  used  as 
such. 


It  appears  the  Post-office  sold  the  er- 
rors singly  and  in  strips  of  ten  and 
when  they  discovered  the  mistake  the 
purchasers  were  written  to  and  asked 
to  return  the  stamps  as  any  letters 
franked  with  them  might  possibly  be 
treated  as  unpaid  by  other  offices. 
When  Dr.  Kloss  made  his  notes  public 
the  hunt  for  the  errors  began  and  some 
of  the  firms  written  to  by  the  Leipzig 
post-office  in  1851  were  hunted  out. 
This  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  one 
of  the  letters  written  by  the  Post-office 
with  an  unused  strip  of  ten  of  the  er- 
rors pinned  to  it.  Due  to  the  forget- 
fulness  of  a  clerk  this  letter  was  never 
returned  to  the  postal  authorities  !  Herr 
Blauhuth,  of  Leipzig,  secured  this  strip, 
and  for  ten  years  these  were  the  only 
copies  known.  The  owner  first  sold  a 
pair,  inlcuding  the  one  spoiled  by  the 
pin-holes,  for  $37.50,  while  his  last  copy 
realised  $300.  The  57  errors  which 
were  returned  to  Dresden  should  have 
been  destroyed  but,  in  1891,  24  of  the 
stamps  were  found  in  an  envelope 
pinned  to  an  old  document  relating  to 
the  former  postal  accounts  in  the  De- 
partment of  Finance,  Dresden.  What  be- 
came of  the  other  33  is  a  mystery  which 
will  probably  never  be  solved— most 
likely  they  were  destroyed  as  was 
originally  intended.  These  errors  were 
included  in  a  set  of  so-called  "essays" 
put  on  the  market  by  the  Saxon  Gov- 
ernment at  75c  each.  The  history  of 
the  error  had  been  forgotten  by  the 
officials  but  not  by  collectors  and  con- 
sequently the  sets  sold  like  the  proverbial 
hot  cakes.  Most  of  these  24  errors 
were  single  copies  but  in  the  lot  was 
one  strip  of  five  and  one  block  of  four, 
the  latter  eventually  passing  into  the 
famous  Mann  collection.  But  though 
this  error  is  one  of  the  great  rarities 
unused  it  is  even  scarcer  used.  There 
is  a  pair  in  the  Tapling  collection,  an- 
other pair  in  a  German  collection,  and 
a  few  single  copies  are  known. 


Reference  List. 

1851.     No.   wmk.     Imperf. 

2.  3  pfennige  green,  Scott's  Nos.  2  or  2a. 

3.  y2   neu-groschen,  black  on  grey,  Scott's 

No.  3. 

4.  1   neu-groschen,    black    on    rose,    Scott's 

No.  5. 

5.  2  neu-groschen,    black   on   blue,    Scott's 

Nos.   6  or  7. 

6.  3  neu-groschen,  black  on  yellow,  Scott's 

No.  8. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

The  death  of  King  Frederic  Augustus 
II  on  August  9th,  1854,  and  accession 
of  his  brother  John,  made  a  change  in 
the  portrait  stamps  necessary.  As  the  3 
pfennige  value  bore  the  Arms  of  the 
kingdom  it  was  not  deemed  necessary 
to  make  any  change  in  these  and  they 
continued  to  be  printed  by  Hirschfeld. 
The  other  values  of  l/2,  1,  2  and  3  neu- 
groschen  were  manufactured  by  Mein- 
hold  and  Sons.  Little  alteration  was 
made  in  the  framework  but  in  the  centre 
the  portrait  of  King  John  superseded 
that  of  his  predecessor.  The  profile  is 
shown  to  the  left  instead  of  to  the  right 
as  on  the  1851  stamps.  The  new  stamps 
were  all  ready  by  the  end  of  1854  but 
they  were  not  placed  on  sale  until  about 
August,  1855.  The  stamps  were  printed 
in  black  on  colored  papers  as  before, 
but  a  change  was  made  in  tne  size  of  the 
plates  which  now  consisted  of  100  in- 
stead of  120  subjects.  In  1856,  5  and  10 
neu-groschen  stamps  were  added  to  the 
set  as  it  was  found  desirable  to  have 
some  higher  values  for  use  on  letters 
sent  beyond  the  confines  of  the  German- 
Austrian  Postal  Union.  These  two 
stamps  were  printed  in  color  on  white 
paper  like  the  3pf  denomination.  More 
than  one  plate  was  used  for  some  of  the 
values  and  some  of  these  show  varia- 
tions in  the  size  and  shape  of  the 
numerals  in  the  small  ovals  at  the  sides. 
These  differences  are  particularly  notice- 
able in  the  l/2  and  1  neu-groschen.  How 
many  plates  were  used  altogether  is  not 
known  but  when  Messrs.  Meinhold  and 
Sons  lost  the  printing  contract  in  1863 
they  sent  to  the  Dresden  Post-office  the 
original  dies  of  the  six  values,  together 
with  four  reliefs  and  five  printing  plates 
of  the  ^ngr,  two  reliefs  and  five  print- 
ing plates  of  the  Ingr,  two  reliefs  and 
three  printing  plates  of  each  of  the 
2ngr  and  5ngr,  and  one  relief  and  two 
printing  plates  of  the  lOngr.  The 
plates  of  the  3ngr  do  not  appear  to 
have  been  sent  at  that  time  and  no  offi- 
cial record  of  their  receipt  at  a  later 
date  has  been  found. 

Shades  are  numerous  and  again  I 
cannot  do  better  than  quote  Mr.  Gray 
on  this  subject,  viz : — 

All  the  stamps  of  this  set  vary  con- 
siderably in  shade,  as  is  only  to  be 
expected  in  the  case  of  a  long-lived 
series.  The  following  are  the  prin- 
cipal variations  : — 

neu-groschen,  black  on  pearl  grey, 
grey,  lilac  grey,  jet-black 
on  grey. 

1  neu-gr,  deep   rose,   rose,  pale   rose. 

2  "        blue,    deep    blue,    greenish 

blue. 


3   neu-gr,  deep    yellow,    yellow,    pale 
yellow. 

5  pale     red,     russet     brown, 

red  brown,  vermilion. 
10  blue,  deep  blue. 

Some  of  the  shades  of  the  l/2  neu- 
groschen  are  much  scarcer  than  others  ; 
the  greenish  blue  shade  of  the  2  neu- 
groschen  is  scarce  used,  though  com- 
mon unused,  and  the  russet  brown  5 
neu-groschen  is  very  scarce.  Appar- 
ently this  color  was  used  by  mistake, 
and  though  some  of  the  stamps 
printed  in  this  shade  were  issued,  the 
printer  was  compelled  to  supply  others 
instead,  printed  in  the  proper  color, 
and  the  balance  of  the  russet-brown 
stamps  were  destroyed  by  the  postal 
authorities.  (There  were  100,000  of 
these  errors,  of  which  62,200  were 
sold  according  to  Mr.  Westoby  though, 
as  will  be  seen  below,  Mr.  Gray  puts 
the  number  at  4,000  more). 

The  5  neu-groschen  is  found  on 
thick  and  on  thin  paper  and  is  also 
known  double  printed  (an  uncata- 
logued  variety).  For  the  first  print- 
ing of  the  10  neu-groschen  stamps 
thinner  paper  was  used  than  for  the 
two  later  printings.  The  quantities 
printed  of  these  stamps  were  as  fol- 
lows : — 

l/2  neu-groschen,  17,705,000 

1  17,345,000 

2  5,980,000 

3  7,880,000 
5     '                         (vermilion 

and  pale  red  ) ,     200,000 
5  '    russet  brown,         66,200 

5  (red  brown),      823,800 

10  250,000 

There  were  twenty-four  printings  of 
the  l/2,  1,  2  and  3  neu-groschen  stamps, 
one  of  the  russet  brown  5  neu- 
groschen  and  three  of  the  10  neu- 
groschen.  The  number  of  printings 
of  the  other  shades  of  the  5  neu- 
groschen  seems  not  to  be  ascertain- 
able. 


Reference  List. 

1855-56.      No   wmk.      Imperf. 

7.  J^ngr  black  on  gray,  Scott's  No.  9. 

8.  Ingr  black  on  rose,  Scott's  No.  10. 

9.  2ngr  black  on  blue,  Scott's  Nos.  11  or 

lla. 

10.  3ngr  black  on  yellow,   Scott's   No.   12. 

11.  5ngr  red,  Scott's  Nos.13,  13a,  13b,  13c. 

12.  lOngr  blue,  Scott's  Nos.  14  or  14a. 


THE  FOURTH  ISSUE. 

In  March,  1861,  the  Prussian  postal 
administration  drew  the  attention  of  the 
other  members  of  the  German-Austrian 
Postal  Union  to  the  confusion  which 
existed  owing  to  the  lack  of  uniformity 
in  the  colors  adopted  for  stamps  of 
corresponding  values  in  the  various 
States.  It  was  suggested  that  all  stamps 
of  similar  value,  whether  that  value 
was  expressed  in  schilling,  grote, 
groschen  or  kreuzer,  should  be  printed 
in  the  same  color.  These  proposals  met 
with  general  approval,  as  we  have  al- 
ready shown  in  considering  the  stamps 
of  other  States,  and  Saxony  began 
preparations  for  a  new  issue.  It  had 
been  decided  to  change  the  color  of  the 
3ngr  and  5ngr  stamps  to  black  on  brown 
and  black  on  yellow  respectively,  when 
the  appearance  of  the  new  Prussian 
stamps  caused  Saxony  to  reconsider  its 
plans.  The  new  Prussian  stamps,  con- 
forming to  the  new  color  scheme,  were 
all  printed  in  color  on  white  paper  and 
the  Saxon  postal  authorities,  upon  in- 
vestigating the  matter,  decided  to  adopt 
the  same  principle  and  retire  the  colored 
papers  in  favor  of  stamps  printed  in 
color  on  white.  Designs  for  the  new 
series  were  invited  from  engravers  but 
only  four  firms  competed — Hirschfeld, 
Meinhold  and  Sons,  and  Blockman  and 
Son,  of  Dresden,  and  Giesecke  and 
Devrient  of  Leipzig.  The  contract  was 
awarded  to  the  last  named  firm  and  the 
taille-douce  process  was  abandoned  for 
the  cheaper  method  of  typography.  The 
design  consisted  of  the  Arms  of  Saxony 
in  colorless  embossing  within  an  up- 
right oval  engine-turned  band  with  a 
scalloped  outer  edge.  On  the  upper 
part  of  the  band  the  name  "SACHSEN" 
is  shown,  on  the  lower  portion  is  the 
denomination  and  in  the  sides  and  be- 
low the  Arms  are  oval  discs  containing 
the  numerals  of  value.  These  are  in 
color  on  a  plain  ground  at  the  sides 
and  in  white  on  a  ground  of  solid  color 
below  the  Arms.  The  3  pfennige  and 
l/2  neu-groschen  values  differ  from  the 
others  in  being  enclosed  within  a  rec- 
tangular frame  in  which  the  numerals  of 
value  are  again  shown  in  each  of  the 
spandrels. 

The  advent  of  the  new  issue  was 
notified  by  a  circular  issued  from  Leip- 
zig on  June  19th,  1863,  and  the  stamps 
were  placed  on  sale  on  July  1st  follow- 
ing. The  denominations  were  the  same 
as  before  except  that  the  10  neu- 
groschen  was  omitted,  owing  to  the 
small  use  made  of  that  value.  The- 
stamps  were  printed  in  sheets  of  100 
and  perforation  was  introduced  for  the 
first  time,  the  gauge  being  13.  There 
are  pronounced  shades  of  all  values 


and  though  Scott  gives  but  two  for  each 
denomination  (three  for  the  5ngr). 
Gibbons  lists  two  for  the  3  pfennige, 
three  each  for  the  l/zt  1,  2,  and  3  neu- 
groschen,  and  five  for  the  5  neu- 
groschen.  Specialists  extend  the  list 
still  further,  especially  in  the  case  of  the 
two  lowest  values. 

In  1867  complaints  were  made  of  the 
varying  colors  of  the  5  neu-groschen, 
and  the  contractors  printed  some  in  a 
reddish  lilac  shade  in  which  there 
would  be  fewer  variations.  These 
stamps  were  objected  to,  however,  as 
resembling  the  Ingr  too  closely  and  they 
were  not  put  on  sale.  Finally  a  grey- 
ish shade  of  lilac  was  adopted.  Mr.  D. 
C.  Gray  tells  us  that  the  quantities 
printed  and  number  of  printings  were  as 
follows :— "There  were  fifteen  printings 
of  the  5  neu-groschen,  sixteen  of  the  2 
neu-groschen,  and  seventeen  of  each  of 
the  remaining  values.  The  quantities 
printed  of  these  stamps  were  as  fol- 
lows : — 3  pfennige,  10,850,000 ;  l/2  neu- 
groschen,  17,100,000;  1  neu-groschen, 
15,175,000;  2  neu-groschen,  4,870,000;  3 
neu-groschen,  5,870,000;  5  neu-groschen, 
950,000;  5  neu-groschen  (grey,  and  grey- 
lilac  shades),  250,000." 

The  1  neu-groschen  is  known  im- 
perforate  vertically,  and  the  3pf,  l/2,  1 
and  2  neu-groschen  are  known  entirely 
imperforate. 

The  post  office  of  Saxony  was  included 
in  the  post  office  system  of  the 
North  German  Confederation  on  Jan- 
uary 1st,  1868,  and  the  distinctive  stamps 
were  consequently  withdrawn. 


Reference  List. 

1863.     Arms    in    centre    embossed.     Perf.     13. 

13.  3pf  green,   Scott's   Nos.   15  or   15a. 

14.  y2ngr  orange,  Scott's  Nos.  16  or  16a. 

15.  Ingr  rose,  Scott's  Nos.  17  or  17a. 

16.  2ngr  blue,   Scott's   Nos.    18  or  18a. 

17.  Sngr  brown,   Scott's    Nos.    19  or  19a. 

18.  5ngr  violet  or  grey-blue,  Scott's  Nos.  20, 

20a   or  21. 


REMAINDERS. 

At  the  time  Saxony  joined  the  North 
German  Confederation  there  were  large 
remainders  of  some  of  the  values  of 
the  1863  issues  and  smaller  lots  of  all 


84 


values  of  1856  and  the  3pf  of  1851. 
The  Government  made  no  attempt  to 
dispose  of  these  in  one  parcel,  as  was 
done  by  other  German  States,  but  of- 
fered the  earlier  issues  at  so  much  per 
stamp  and  the  1863  issue  at  a  few  marks 
per  500  stamps.  No  information  seems 
to  have  been  published  as  to  the  num- 
bers available  but  as  late  as  1890  all 
but  the  lOngr  were  obtainable  at  very 
low  figures,  though  the  lOngr  was 
quoted  at  15  marks.  In  1899  the  prices 


were    advanced    and    the    stamps    were 
then  offered  as   follows : — 

3pf   of   1851,   15   marks 

Ingrof   1856,     1       " 

2ngrof   1856,     2 

Sngrof   1856,     3       " 

Sngrof   1856,   10 

None  of  the  ^  and  10  neu-groschen 
were  then  available  and  the  only  value 
of  the  1863  series  offered  was  the  l/2ngr 
which  was  quoted  at  6  marks  per  500 
stamps. 


SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN. 


Of  all  the  stamps  issiled  by  what  we 
now  call  the  German  States  none  are 
more  complicated  than  those  issued  by 
the  dual  duchies  of  Schleswig  and  Hoi- 
stein  and  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  none 
delineate  the  chequered  history  of  a 
troublous  period  more  clearly.  The 
catalogues  generally  divide  the  stamps 
into  three  groups — the  issues  for  Schles- 
wig and  Holstein,  issues  for  Schleswig 
only,  and  issues  for  Holstein  only.  But 
though  this  rough  and  ready  classifica- 
tion has  some  advantages  it  is  far  from 
being  accurate  and  a  collection  of  the 
stamps  arranged  by  catalogue  obviously 
fails  to  show  the  proper  sequence  of 
historical  events. 

Although  the  stamps  themselves  are 
simple  and  straightforward  in  the  main 
it  is  fortunate  that  they  have  been  ex- 
tensively written  up  so  that  it  is  now 
possible  to  examine  them  from  a  his- 
torical point  of  view.  While  most  of 
the  articles  available  for  reference  have 
appeared  in  German  periodicals  an  ex- 
cellent one  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  G.  B. 
Duerst  will  be  found  in  the  Philatelic 
Journal  of  Great  Britain  for  1898  and 
from  this  I  have  drawn  largely  for  much 
of  the  following  information.  Much 
valuable  material  has  also  been  gleaned 
from  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  two 
first  stamps,  written  by  the  veteran 
Mons.  L.  Hanciau.  and  which  appeared 
in  the  MoiitJiIy  Journal  in  the  later 
months  of  1906. 

The  former  duchies  of  Schleswig  and 
Holstein,  united  with  Lauenburg,  now 
form  a  province  of  Prussia,  just  south 
of  Denmark.  The  total  area  of  the  pro- 
vince is  7,273  square  miles  and  it  has  a 
population  of  about  one  and  a  half  mil- 
lions, most  of  the  inhabitants  being  of 
Low  German  stock. 

At  the  dawn  of  history  the  duchies 
were  inhabited  by  the  Cimri,  who  were 


succeeded  by  the  Angles,  Jutes  and 
Friscians;  but  the  greater  part  of  the 
Angles  crossed  over  to  England  and 
their  place  was  taken  by  the  Danes. 
Then  for  a  period  of  more  than  a  thou- 
sand years  Schleswig-Holstein,  and 
Lauenburg,  which  politically  belonged  to 
them,  were  a  continual  bone  of  conten- 
tion between  Denmark  and  Germany. 
They  were  continually  changing  hands, 
now  belonging  to  Denmark  with  the 
King  of  that  country  as  their  Duke,  then 
being  ruled  by  a  German  prince,  or 
sometimes  independent.  To  give  even 
a  brief  resume  of  all  the  happenings  dur- 
ing this  lengthy  period  of  unrest  would 
pccupv  far  too  much  space  but  I  think 
it  will  be  interesting  to  record  the  most 
important  events  as  outlined  by  Mr. 
Duerst,  viz. : — 

The  first  church  built  on  Danish 
ground  was  erected  at  Schleswig  in 
850,  the  country  evidently  then  be- 
longing to  Denmark.  In  934,  however 
it  was  ceded  to  Germany,  and  Henry 
I  established  it  as  a  separate  depend»- 
ency  under  the  name  of  "Danish 
Mark."  The  Emperor,  Conrad  II, 
gave  the  country  back  to  Denmark  in 
1025.  The  Wendish  tribes  revolted 
and  founded  in  1066  a  mighty  empire 
under  Kroko.  This  empire  comprised 
Mecklenburg,  Holstein,  Schleswig, 
Lauenburg,  Storman  and  Dithmar- 
schen.  The  Emperor,  Lothair,  ap- 
pointed, about  the  year  1230  or  1231, 
Duke  Adolphus  of  Schauenburg,  Duke 
of  Holstein,  whereas  Schleswig  was 
left  with  Denmark,  and  Lauenburg 
was  given  to  Henry  of  Badewide.  In 
1459,  Adolphus  VHI,  Duke  of  Schles- 
wig and  Holstein,  died  and  his  uncle, 
King  Christian  I  of  Denmark,  (the 
first  ruler  of  the  Oldenburg  line),  was 
elected  Duke  of  Schleswig  and  Hol- 
stein on  the  5th  of  March,  1470,  One 


of  the  principal  clauses  in  the  act  of 
succession  was  "that  these  two  coun- 
tries should  be  undivided  forever" 
(ewich  tosammende  ungedeelt).  About 
the  year  1500,  however,  King  John 
divided  the  countries  again,  and  his 
brother,  Frederic,  received  Tondern, 
Hadersleben,  Tyle,  Steinburg,  Trittow, 
Oldenburg,  Plon  and  Kiel,  whereas 
King  John  retained  Flensburg,  Son- 
derburg,  Norburg,  Hanrove,  Rends- 
burg,  Haseldorf,  Apenrade  and  Sege- 
berg,  t.  e.  the  northern  portion.  By 
the  treaty  of  Roeskilde,  in  February, 
1865,  Schleswig  and  Holstein  were  de- 
clared to  be  independent  of  Denmark. 
This  treaty,  however,  was  never  car- 
ried out,  and  the  two  duchies  were 
sometimes  united  with  Denmark,  and 
sometimes  independent,  and  under  the 
rule  of  their  own  dukes.  In  1720 
England  and  France  confirmed  the 
conquest  of  Schleswig  by  the  Danes, 
while  Holstein  was  considered  as  be- 
longing to  the  German  Empire  under 
the  sovereignty  of  their  own  dukes. 
At  the  end  of  the  Napoleonic  troubles 
both  duchies  were  left  with  Denmark, 
although  it  had  been  decided'  that  only 
Schleswig  should  belong  to  Denmark. 
On  the  southern  gate  of  Rendsburg 
there  is  to  be  found  the  inscription 
"Eidora  Romani  Terminus  Imperii" 
meaning  that  the  river  Eider  is  to  be 
the  frontier  of  the  Roman  Empre,  and 
the  decision  of  dividing  the  two 
duchies  was  based  on  it.  In  1846,  the 
question  arose  whether  Schleswig  and 
'Holstein  should  belong  to  Denmark 
or  not,  and  when  the  Danish  Con- 
gress petitioned  the  King  to  proclaim 
that  Denmark,  Schleswig,  Holstein 
and  Lauenburg  should  be  one  united 
monarchy,  the  German  population  of 
the  three  latter  provinces  appealed  to 
the  German  people  and  expressed  the 
wish  to  be  free  from  Denmark,  and  to 
become  independent  duchies  affiliated 
with  Germany.  An  insurrection  broke 
out  in  1848,  but  was  subdued  by  the 
Danes  in  1851,  and  it  was  not  until 
1864  that  the  German  Congress  asked 
Prussia  and  Austria  to  interfere.  The 
consequence  of  this  step  was  the  war  of 
1864,  which  ended  by  Denmark  ceding 
Schleswig,  Holstein  and  Lauenburg  to 
the  victors.  These,  however,  could 
not  agree  altogether,  sometimes  the 
two  duchies  were  governed  by  both, 
sometimes  Schleswig  by  Prussia,  and 
Holstein  by  Austria.  The  war  of 
1866  between  Austria  and  Prussia  left 
the  three  duchies  with  Prussia. 
The  currency  in  Schleswig  and  Hol- 
stein was  the  mark  courant,  of  Ham- 
burg, which  was  divided  into  16  schil- 
linge and  had  a  value  of  about  28c.  In 


Lauenburg  the  currency  was  that  of 
Mecklenburg,  in  which  48  schillinge 
were  the  equivalent  of  a  thaler  of  three 
marks,  or  72c  in  United  States  money. 
The  Danish  money  was  also  used,  in 
which  96  skilling  were  equal  to  a  rigs- 
bankdkler,  worth  about  54c.  Four  skil- 
ling Danish  were,  therefore,  equivalent 
to  1^4  schillinge  of  Schleswig-Holstein 
and  ll/2  schillinge  of  Lauenburg. 

The  first  stamps  issued  by  the  duchies 
were  those  of  the  Provisional  Govern- 
ment which  appeared  in  1850  and  the  last 
series  appeared  in  1866.  Although, 
therefore,  the  philatelic  history  occupies 
the  comparatively  short  period  of  six- 
teen years  so  many  were  the  changes  of 
government,  as  related  in  the  foregoing 
historical  sketch,  that  the  stamps  should 
really  be  considered  in  eight  separate 
periods  as  follows  : — 

A.  Schleswig-Holstein.          (Provisional 
Government ;  seat  of  government  at- 
Rendsburg)     Nov.     15th,     1850-Feb. 
1st,  1851. 

B.  Schleswig-Holstein.      (Danish    Gov- 
ernment).   Feb.  1st,  1851-March  1st, 
1864. 

C.  Schleswig.      (Governed  by   Commis- 

sioners appointed  by  Prussia  and 
Austria;  seat  of  government  at 
Flensburg).  Feb.  20th,  1864-Janu- 
ary  24th,  1865. 

D.  Holstein.      (Governed    by    Commis- 
sioners   appointed    by    Prussia    and 
Austria ;     seat     of    government     at 
Kiel).      March    1st,    1864- Jan.    24th, 
1865. 

E.  Schleswig  and  Holstein.     (Governed 
by   Prussia   and1  Austria   combined; 
seat  of  government   at   Flensburg). 
Jan.  24th,  1865-October  31st,  1865. 

F.  Schleswig,     (Governed  by  Prussia) 

Nov.  1st,  1865-Nov.  1st,  1866. 

G.  Holstein.     (Governed    by    Austria). 
Nov.  1st,  1865-Nov.  1st,  1866. 

H.    Schleswig  and  Holstein  united  with 
Prussia.     Nov.  1st,  1866. 

Period   A.    Provisional    Government    of 
Schleswig-Holstein. 

In  1848,  the  duchies  of  Schleswig  and 
Holstein  revolted  from  the  rule  of  Den- 
mark and  it  was  only  after  a  struggle 
lasting  for  three  years  that  Frederic  VII 
was  able  to  quell  the  insurrection.  In 
spite  of  the  constant  warfare  the  revo- 
lutionary government,  the  seat  of  which 
was  established  successively  at  Rends- 
burg, Schleswig,  and  Kiel,  found  time 
to  consider  the  issuing  of  postage 
stamps.  In  1849,  the  Director  of  Posts 
was  sent  to  Germany  and  Belgium  to 
study  postal  matters  in  those  countries 
and  find  out  how  a  postal  system  could 
be  best  ad&pted  to  fit  the  needs  of 
Schleswig-Holstein.  The  information  he 


obtained  was  of  a  sufficiently  satisfac- 
tory nature  to  induce  the  Department 
of  Finance  to  propose  a  law  for  the  in- 
troduction of  postage  stamps.  This 
scheme  was  unanimously  accepted  by 
the  National  Assembly  o'n  March  26th, 
1850  and  on  April  3rd;  following,  a  law 
was  passed  in  which  the  chief  provisions 
were  as  follows  : — 

Article  1. — The  Department  of  Fi- 
nance is  authorised  to  have  manufac- 
tured stamps  or  "Postschillinge,"  by 
the  affixing  of  which  upon  letters  the 
latter  may  be  franked,  in  accordance 
with  the  directions  laid  down  in  the 
tariff  of  postal  charges.  These  stamps 
are  to  bear  the  Arms  of  Schleswig- 
Holstein. 
Article  2.— Whoever  shall 

(1)  With  fraudulent  intent  manu- 
facture ."Postschillinge"  or  forge  them, 
and    employ    the    forged    "Postschil- 
linge" for  the  franking  of  letters,  or 
cause  it  to  be  done  by  others; 

(2)  In  collusion  with  the  author  of 
the  fraud,  or  with  his  assistance  em- 
ploy,   or    cause    to    be    employed    by 
others,   such   "Postschillinge"    for  the 
franking  of  letters,  shall  be  punished 
with    imprisonment    with    hard    labor, 
not  exceeding  five  years. 

Whoever  shall  knowingly  employ, 
or  cause  to  be  employed  by  others, 
for  the  franking  of  letters,  imitations 
or  falsifications  of  the  "Postschillinge" 
without  collusion  with  the  author  of 
the  fraud  or  his  aid,  will  incur  a  pen- 
alty of  imprisonment  with  hard  labor 
for  one  year. 

The  above  law  made  no  mention  of 
the  actual  values  or  the  colors  of  the 
stamps  it  was  proposed  to  issue  but  in 
the  Postal  Gazette  for  November  9th, 
1850,  the  public  were  informed  of  the 
forthcoming  issue  as  follows : — 

Xotice  of  the  introduction  of  the 
Stamps  for  franking  letters  styled 
"Postschillinge." 

In  execution  of  the  law  relating  to 
the  introduction  of  stamps  for  the 
franking  of  letters,  etc.,  dated  April 
2nd,  1850,  Art.  1,  the  following  in- 
structions are  brought  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  general  public  and  or- 
dained for  the  compliance  of  the  postal 
officials : — 

(1)  From  the  15th  November  of 
this  year  there  will  be  placed  on  sale 
at  the  postoffices  stamps  for  the  frank- 
ing of  letters  "Postschillinge."  These 
stamps  will  bear  the  Arms  of  Schles- 
wig-Holstem,  the  inscription  POST- 
SCHILLI^TG,  and.  on  a  white  ground, 
the  letters  S  and  H,  and  numerals  de- 
noting the  values  represented  by 


stamps  in  schilling  of  the  currency  of 
Schleswig-Holstein. 
The  franking  stamps  of  the  value  of 

1  schilling  are  blue 

2  schilling  are  red 

and  are  pierced  lengthwise  by  a 
blue  silk  thread,  and  are  provided  with 
gum  on  the  reverse  side,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  attaching  them. 

(2)  Only  letters    (not  the  packets 
and    envelopes    which    belong    to    the 
transport    post)    may    be    franked    by 
means  of  stamps.     The  franking  is  ef- 
fected   by    affixing    as    many    "Post- 
schillinge"   as    amount   to   the   charge 
under  the   tariff   on   the   address   side 
of  the  letter,  in  the  left  upper  corner, 
by  means  of  moistening  the  gum  which 
will    be    found    on    the    back    of    the 
stamps.     Letters  franked   in  this  way 
may  be  deposited  in  the  letter  boxes, 
as  may  also  unfranked  letters;  regis- 
tered letters  should  in  future,  as  here- 
tofore, be  handed  in  at  the  Postoffice 
window.     In  order  to  rend'er  the  post- 
al tariff  more  accessible  to  all,  the  lists 
of  charges  are  posted'  up  at  the  side 
of  the  window  and  of  the  letter  boxes, 
and   copies    are   also   for    sale    at    all 
post-offices  at  1.  schilling. 

(3)  In    the    case   of   letters   which 
have  not  been  sufficiently  franked  by 
senders,  the  stamps  which  are  affixed 
to   them   will   not   be  taken   into  con- 
sideration, bi;t  the  total  charge  must 
then    be    paid    by    the    receivers.     If 
more  than  the  required  charge  accord- 
ing to  the  tariff,  is  paid  by  the  stamps 
affixed,  the  sender  will  suffer  the  loss. 
When  a  stamp  has  been  used  once  it 
loses  its  value. 

(4)  None   but   the   postal   officials 
and    the    persons    duly   authorised    by 
the  higher  postal  authorities  may  sell 
the  franking  stamps. 

On  the  same  day  a  further  official  no- 
tice was  published  for  the  instruction  of 
postal  officials  and  this  is  by  no  means 
uninteresting.  Article  1  states  that  the 
stamps  are  printed  "80  upon  a  quarto 
sheet"  and  that  the  post-offices  must 
never  be  without  a  stock  of  stamps  suf- 
ficient to  last  for  fifteen  days.  It  is  also 
expressly  stipulated  that  each  office  is 
responsible  for  the  amount  of  stamps  in 
its  possession.  Article  3  states  that  the 
post-offices  must  take  care  that  the  let- 
ters are  sufficienty  franked,  see  that  the 
stamps  are  genuine  and  have  not  been 
used  before.  After  this  careful  exami- 
nation the  officials  were  instructed  to 
obliterate  the  stamps  (the  word  schwar- 
zen,  "blacken,"  is  used).  Article  4  re- 
lates to  the  providing  of  each  office  with 


a  distinctive  numbered  cancelling  stamp. 
These  numbers  ran  from  1  to  42. 

The  set,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  forego- 
ing official  documents,  consisted  of  but  two 
denominations — 1  and  2  schilling.  Both 
are  alike  in  design  and  show  the  Arms 
of  the  duchies  of  Schleswig  and  Hoi- 
stein  together  in  a  shield,  impressed  in 
plain  relief,  within  an  oval  which  covers 
the  body  of  a  double  headed  eagle  with 
wings  outspread.  The  eagle  is  in  color 
and  rests  upon  a  horizontally  lined 
ground  within  a  rectangular  frame.  In 
the  upper  corners  are  small  uncolored 
ovals  containing  the  letters  "S"  and  "H" 
respectively  (these  of  course  being  the 
initial  letters  of  the  names  of  the  two 
duchies),  while  corresponding  ovals  in 
the  lower  angles  contain  the  numerals  of 
value.  Above  the  central  oval  is 
"POST"  and  below  is  "SCHILLING" 
these  inscriptions  extending  over  the 
eagle  and  being  in  large  uncolored  capi- 
tals. The  Arms  of  Schleswig  described 
in  the  orthodox  heraldic  manner  are 
"Or,  two  lions  passant,  or  Beopardy, 
azure,"  while  those  of  Holstein  are 
"Gules,  a  triangular  escutcheon  argent, 
coupe  gules,  supported  at  each  side  by 
three  half  leaves  of  holly  argent,  and 
accompanied  by  three  Passion  nails  of 
the  same,  placed  at  even  distances  so 
that  their  points  appear  to  pierce  the 
angles  of  the  escutcheon." 

The  dies  were  engraved  on  steel  by 
M.  Claudius,  of  Altona,  and  the  stamps 
were  printed  at  the  works  of  Messrs.  H. 
W.  Kobner  and  L.  Kuhl,  of  that  city,  in 
color  on  white  wove  paper,  the  Arms 
in  the  centre  being  in  relief. 

The  stamps  were  printed  in  sheets  of 
eighty,  in  ten  rows  of  eight,  upon  "Dick- 
enson"  paper  with  a  blue  thread  running 
vertically  through  each  stamp.  Owing 
to  imperfect  feeding  of  the  paper  in  the 
printing  press  the  silk  thread  does  not 
always  appear  in  the  centre  of  the  stamps 
as  was  intended,  but  may  frequently  be 
found  at  one  of  the  sides.  This  paper 
was  obtained  from  the  same  manufac- 
turers that  supplied  similar  paper  for  the 
Bavarian  stamps. 

A  variety  of  the  2sch  is  recorded  with 
a  dot  after  the  numeral  "2"  in  the  right 
lower  corner  but  what  its  position  was 
in  the  sheet  I  am  unable  to  say.  A  die 
and  plate  for  a  3  schilling  stamp  was 
also  preoared  but  this  was  never  used. 

The  dies  were  finished  by  M.  Claudius 
and  the  blocks  necessary  for  the  print- 
ing plates  were  ready  by  October  20th, 
1850.  As  a  precaution  against  counter- 
feiting somewhat  elaborate  methods 
were  used  in  manufacturing  these 
stamps  and  on  this  point  I  cannot  do 
better  than  quote  from  the  excellent  de- 


scription   provided    by    M.    Rosenkranz 
viz : — 

The  stamps  were  separated  from 
one  another  by  a  space  of  1  mm.,  and 
were  produced  by  three  successive 
processes. 

The  sheet  first  received  an  impres- 
sion from  a  plate  of  80  cliches  of  an 
underprint,  of  an  Eagle  in  light  blue 
or  light  red  according  to  the  value. 
This  Eagle  was  engraved  on  steel,  and 
from  the  original  die  two  lots  of 
eighty  cliches  were  prepared  and  ar- 
ranged together  in  the  form  in  which 
the  stamps  would  appear  on  the  sheets, 
thus  making  up  two  plates,  one  for 
the  blue  stamps  and  one  for  the  red, 
or  160  cliches  in  all. 

The  second  die  contained  the  de- 
sign of  the  stamp,  and  as  the  same 
Eagle  appears  again  upon  this,  the 
Eagle  was  transferred  to  a  steel  die 
in  such  a  way  that  the  impression 
from  the  second  plate  should  fit  ac- 
curately upon  that  of  the  first.  This 
die  was  etched,  and  upon  it  were  en- 
graved the  lines  of  the  background 
and  the  inscriptions  'POST'  and 
'SCHILLING,'  while  the  four  small 
ovals  in  the  corners  were  left  blank. 
Then  160  cliches  were  produced  from 
this  steel  die  and  were  made  up  into 
plates  of  eighty,  and  finally  there  were 
engraved  upon  each  cliche  the  letters 
'S'  and  'H'  in  the  upper  ovals  and  the 
figures  '!'  or  '2'  in  the  lower.  There 
are  thus  eighty  different  types  of  each 
of  the  tzvo  values.  These  additions 
were  made  by  means  of  punches, 
which  impressed  the  outlines  of  the  let- 
ters and  figures  into  the  comparative- 
ly soft  metal  of  the  cliches,  and  the 
surrounding  parts  of  the  ovals  were 
then  cut  away,  for  the  differences  are 
recognizable  but  exceedingly  minute. 
I  have  never  seen  an  entire  sheet,  but 
I  have  examined  some  fairly  large 
blocks  of  stamps  which  enable  me  to 
affirm  that  this  engraving  was  not 
done  upon  a  few  cliches  made  from 
the  original  die,  and  then  the  remain- 
ing cliches  produced  by  reduplicating 
these  matrices,  but  that  the  engraving 
was  done  separately  upon  each  of  the 
eighty. 

*      *      *      * 

Although  excellent  "  register  was 
kept  in  the  printing,  close  examination 
shows  that  here  and  there  the  colour 
of  the  first  printing  appears  at  one 
side  or  the  other  of  the  central  oval. 

The  third  printing  produced  the  em- 
bossed Arms  in  the  oval  in  the  center. 
The  Coat  of  Arms  was*  engraved  in 
relief  on  a  slightly  convex  steel  die, 
and  from  this  eighty  brass  cliches 


were  struck,  which  were  burnished 
and  then  arranged  in  a  plate  for  the 
embossing.  The  steel  die  in  relief 
was  made  somewhat  convex  as  other- 
wise the  central  design  would  not  im- 
press itself  sufficiently  clearly  in  the 
brass  cliches.  All  the  stamps,  both  1 
and  2  schilling,  were  embossed  with 
the  same  plate.  The  Arms  are  not 
always  set  exactly  in  the  middle  of 
the  oval ;  at  times  they  are  too  much 
to  the  right  or  left.  Even  in  the 
case  of  unsevered  copies  the  position 
of  the  Arms  within  the  oval  is  not 
always  the  same ;  it  must  therefore 
be  supposed  that  when  the  brass 
cliches  were  soldered  together,  suf- 
ficient care  was  not  taken  in  their 
exact  arrangement. 

The  printers  were  under  contract  to 
furnish  two  millions  of  stamps  in  all 
and  these  were  supplied  in  four  con- 
signments as  follows : — 
Nov.  1,  1850—80,000  Isch,  40,000  2sch 
Nov.  25.  1850—20,000  Isch,  20,000  2sch 
Dec.  24,  1850—100,000  Isch,  100,000  2sch 
Feb.  14,  1851—1,100,000  Isch,  540,000  2sch 

Altogether,  therefore,  1,300,000  of  the 
1  schilling  blue  were  printed  and 
700,000  of  the  2  schilling  rose.  The  cost 
of  the  dies,  matrices,  and  other  materials 
required  was  1,000  marks  (about  $290), 
while  the  charge  for  printing,  pressing, 
gumming  and  packing  was  lOsch  per 
1,000  which  amounted  to  1,250  marks  or 
about  $360.00. 

Although  so  many  stamps  were 
printed,  a  comparatively  small  number 
were  sold  and  of  these  not  all  seem  to 
have  been  used.  According  to  the  offi- 
cial records  stamps  to  a  total  face  value 
of  1,599  marks  2  schilling  were  sold 
and  8,701  letters  were  franked  with 
the  stamps.  This  accounts  for  the 
greater  rarity  of  these  stamps  in  used 
condition. 


Reference   List. 
Nov.    15th,    1851.     Silk  thread  paper.      Imperf. 

1.  Isch   blue,   Scott's    No.    1   or  la. 

2.  2sch  rose,   Scott's   No.  2  or  2a. 


of  l/10sch  would  be  necessary,  before 
these  could  be  issued  the  insurrection 
was  suppressed  by  the  Danes.  The  Pro- 
visional Government  was  dissolved  on 
February  1st,  1851,  and  a  law  was  passed 
on  April  18th  following  according  to 
which  Danish  postage  stamps  were  to  be 
used  in  the  duchies.  The  revolutionary 
stamps  were,  however,  permitted  to  be 
used  until  the  end  of  August  when  the 
large  remainders  were  sent  to  Copen- 
hagen, together  with  the  dies,  plates  and 
all  postal  documents.  No  special  stamps 
were  used  during  this  period  of  Danish 
rule. 


Period  B — Danish  Government. 

Although  the  Provisional  Government 
passed  a  law  amending  the  postal  rates 
under  which  new  stamps  of  the  value 


Period  C — Schleswig;  Governed  by  Com- 
missioners appointed  by  Aus- 
tria and  Prussia. 

Schleswig  and  Holstein  being  re- 
garded as  belonging  to  the  German  Con- 
federation, the  Congress  of  Frankfurt 
in  1863  authorised  Austria  and  Prussia 
as  the  two  principal  German  powers  to 
force  Denmark  to  evacuate  the  two 
duchies.  Denmark  refused  to  be  co- 
erced and  the  war  of  1864  resulted. 
Denmark  was  badly  defeated  and 
the  two  duchies  thus  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  victors.  The  allied  forces 
of  Austria  and  Prussia  occupied  Flens- 
burg  on  February  7th,  1864,  and  no 
time  was  lost  in  superseding  the  Danish 
postage  stamps.  A  notice  was  published 
from  Flensburg  on  March  14th,  1864,  an- 
nouncing the  issue  of  a  4sch  stamp  for 
Schleswig,  viz : — 

To  replace  the  postage  stamps  in- 
scribed in  the  Danish  language  hither- 
to employed  in  the  Duchy  of  Schles- 
wis:,  new  postage  stamps  with  the  in- 
scription "HERZOGTHUM  SCHLES- 
WIG"  (Duchy  of  Schleswig)  will  be 
put  into  circulation.  The  post  offices 
in  the  Duchy  of  Schleswig  will  at 
first  sell  only  stamps  of  the  value  of 
4  schillinge  printed  in  rose  on  white 
paper. 

Shortly  afterwards  this  notice  was 
followed  by  another  announcing  the  is- 
sue of  the  l^sch  stamps  on  the  follow- 
ing April  1st.  The  reason  for  the  issue 
of  the  two  stamps  is  that  the  first  of 
them  was  in  Danish  currency,  and  was 
objected  to  on  that  account.  The  new 
one  in  Hamburg  currency  was  at  once 
ordered  to  take  its  place ;  but  not  being 
ready  in  time  the  4sch  stamp  was  is- 
sued and  continued  in  use  for  only  six- 
teen days.  This  value  is  consequently 
much  the  scarcer  used. 

Both  stamps  were  manufactured  at 
the  State  Printing  Works  in  Berlin,  and 
are  similar  to  each  other  in  design. 
Tin's  shows  the  numerals  of  value  in 


large  figures  on  an  upright  oval  ground 
of  solid  color.  This  is  enclosed  within 
an  engine  turned  oval  band  inscribed 
"HERZOGTH.  SCHLESWIG"  at  top, 
and  "SCHILLINGE"  (for  the  4sch)  or 
"SCHILLING"  (for  the  l^sch)  at  the 
base.  The  stamps  were  embossed  in 
color  on  white  wove  paper  and  were 
printed  in  sheets  of  100  arranged  in  ten 
rows  of  ten. 

For  some  unexplained  reason  Gibbons' 
catalogue  gives  1865  as  the  date  of  issue 
of  these  two  stamps. 


Reference  List. 
1864.     No  wmk.     Rouletted  11%. 

3.  4sch    carmine,    Scott's    No.    13. 

4.  IJ^sch   green,    Scott's    No.   9. 


Period  D — Holstein;  Governed  by  Com- 
missioners appointed  by  Prus- 
sia    and     Austria. 

FIRST  ISSUE. 

On  February  18th,  1864,  the  following 
notice  was  issued  from  Kiel  by  the 
joint  Commissioners  of  Austria  and 
Prussia  relating  to  the  issue  of  new 
stamps : — 

From  the  first  of  the  following 
month  new  stamps  can  be  obtained  at 
all  post  offices  in  the  Duchies  of  Hol- 
stein and  Lauenburg.  These  new 
stamps  will  be  printed  like  those  in 
use  at  present  in  blue,  and  of  the 
value  of  1^4sch  courant  or  4sch  Dan- 
ish currency. 

From  the  same  date  Danish  stamps 
cannot  be  used  any  longer  for  the 
franking  of  letters  in  both  Duchies. 
All  post  offices  are  hereby  instructed 
to  forward  to  headquarters  at  the  be- 
ginning of  next  month  all  such  stamps 
they  may  have  in  stock. 

All  persons  having  such  stamps  in 
their  possession  and  wishing  to  ex- 
change same  for  new  stamps,  must  ap- 
ply to  the  post  offices  before  the  first 
of  next  month. 

The  design  of  the  new  stamps  ob- 
viously owes  its  inspiration  to  the  1853 
design  for  Denmark.  In  the  center  is 
a  circular  uncolored  space  containing  the 
value  "VA  SCHILLING  CRT."  in 


three  lines.  This  is  enclosed  within  a 
square  frame  having  posthorns  in  each 
of  the  four  corners.  In  the  frame  are 
the  letters  "HRZGL"  at  the  left; 
"POST"  at  the  top;  and  "FRM"  at  the 
right.  This  is  an  abbreviation  for  "Her- 
zogliche  Post  Freimarke"  meaning  "Du- 
cal Postage  Stamp."  At  the  bottom  of 
the  frame  is  "4  S.  R.  M."  i.  e.  "4  Skil- 
ling  Reichs  Miinze"  (4  skilling  Reichs 
Mark  or  Danish  currency).  The  span- 
drels are  filled  with  wavy  lines. 

The  stamps  were  lithographed  by 
Kobner  and  Co.,  of  Altona,  in  sheets  of 
100  in  ten  rows  of  ten.  Before  printing, 
the  paper  was  covered  with  an  under- 
print  of  wavy  lines,  of  a  grayish  color, 
in  metallic  oxide  which  only  becomes 
visible  by  chemical  action.  The  fumes 
of  sulpheretted  hydrogen  will  cause  the 
under-print  to  show.  In  the  upper  mar- 
gin the  inscription  "HERZOGLICHE 
POST  FREIMARKEN"  appears  in 
the  wavy  lines  and  in  the  central  portion 
of  each  stamp  a  capital  "P"  was  also 
left  clear  of  the  under-print.  There  are 
three  types  of  this  stamp,  printed  from 
different  stones,  which  appeared  in  the 
order  in  which  they  are  described,  viz : — 

Type  I. — The  wavy  lines  in  the  span- 
drels are  close  together ;  the  lettering 
is  small  and  there  are  periods  after  the 
letters  at  the  sides;  and  "SCHILLING" 
is  in  large  type. 

Type  II. — The  wavy  lines  in  the  span- 
drels are  coarser  and  farther  apart ;  the 
lettering  is  larger  and  there  are  periods 
after  the  letters  at  the  sides;  and  the 
word  "SCHILLING"  is  in  small  type. 

Type  III. — The  wavy  lines  in  the 
spandrels  are  similar  to  those  of  Type 
II ;  the  lettering  is  still  larger  and  thick- 
er and  there  are  no  periods  after  the 
letters  at  the  sides ;  and  "SCHILLING" 
has  no  dots  above  the  two  letters  "I." 

The  stamps  were  printed  on  white 
wove  paper  and  they  were  issued  in  im- 
perforate  condition,  though  both  types 
I  and  III  are  known  rouletted.  As  the 
rouletting  was,  however,  entirely  unoffi- 
cial the  philatelic  interest  of  these  vari- 
eties is  slight. 


Reference  List. 

March    1864.      Imperforate. 
5.     Ij^sch   blue    (three   types),    Scott's   Nos, 
15,  16,  or  17. 


90 


SECOND  ISSUE. 

Early  in  April,  1864,  another  official 
notice  was  issued  from  Kiel  to  the  ef- 
fect that,  as  the  duchies  of  Holstein  and 
Lauenburg  formed  a  territory  of  the 
German-Austrian  Postal  Union,  the 
stamps  would  have  to  be  altered  and  in- 
stead of  being  inscribed  with  an  equiva- 
lent value  in  Danish  currency  they 
would  have  the  value  denoted  according 
to  the  currency  of  Lauenburg.  To  give 
a  little  more  time  to  get  rid  of  the  stock 
in  hand  of  the  former  issue,  the  stamps 
of  the  new  issue  were  not  placed  in 
circulation  until  about  the  end  of  May, 
1864. 

The  design  is  somewhat  similar  to 
that  of  the  preceding  issue,  but  the  num- 
erals of  value  in  the  center  are  much 
larger  and  double-lined.  Also,  instead 
of  being  confined  within  a  circle  the 
value  is  in  a  square  frame  with  "SCHIL- 
LING CRT."  in  an  upturned  curve  be- 
low and  with  small  ornaments  in  each 
of  the  angles.  In  the  right  hand  side 
of  the  frame  the  lettering,  indicating 
Freimarken,  now  consists  of  "F  R  M  R 
K,"  thus  balancing  the  five  letters  on  the 
opposite  side.  At  the  base  the  inscrip- 
tion reads  "lJ/£  S  L  M"— (Schilling 
Lauenburg  Miinze),  that  is  "schilling 
of  Lauenburg  currency."  The  under- 


(dated    March   31st,    1865)    stated   their 
further  use  would  not  be  permitted. 

Reference  List. 

May    1864.      Lithographed,    Rouletted    8. 
blue,   Scott's   No.   18. 


print,  consisting  of  a  pattern  of  diagonal 
lines,  is  in  pink  and,  as  in  the  previous 
stamps,  the  letter  "P"  shows  in  the 
centre  of  each  stamp  clear  of  the  under- 
print.  The  stamps,  like  the  former  is- 
sue, were  lithographed  in  sheets  of  100 
by  Kobner  and  Co.,  of  Altona.  They 
are  rouletted  in  line  about  8.  In  pay- 
ment of  postage  to  foreign  countries 
this  stamp  is  considered  the  equivalent 
of  1  silbergroschen,  although  the  sil- 
bergroschen was  really  worth  1^  schil- 
ling. 

The  local  rate  at  Altona  and  Kiel  was 
y$  schilling  and  as  no  stamp  of  this 
value  was  provided  for  the  use  of  the 
public  an  official  edict  was  published  on 
November  22nd,  1864,  permitting  the 
]^sch  stamp  to  be  cut  into  halves,  diag- 
onally, and  each  portion  then  served  for 
the  prepayment  of  the  local  rate.  These 
bi-sected  stamps  are,  therefore,  quite 
legitimate  provisionals.  They  were  al- 
lowed to  be  used  for  a  period  of  about 
four  months  until  an  official  notice 


Period     E — Schleswig     and     Holstein: 

Governed     by     Prussia     and 

Austria     Combined. 

In  the  year  1865,  prior  to  the  Conven- 
tion of  Gastein,  stamps  were  issued  un- 
der the  authority  of  Austria  and  Prus- 
sia for  the  whole  territory  comprised 
in  the  duchies.  One  of  the  chief  rea- 
sons for  this  step  was  that  of  finance, 
considerable  economy  being  effected  by 
having  one  instead  of  two  postal  ad- 
ministrations. At  '  the  same  time  the 
head  office  was  removed  to  Flensburg, 
this  place  being  considered  the  most 
centrally  situated. 

The  first  stamp  to  appear  bore  the 
facial  value  of  l/&  schilling.  This  stamp, 
like  those  previously  issued  for  Schles- 
wig, was  manufactured  at  the  State 
Printing  Works,  in  Berlin.  The  design 
is  similar  to  the  Schleswig  stamps  of 
1864  but  with  the  upper  inscription  al- 
tered to  "SCHLESWIG  HOLSTEIN;' 

and  the  lower  one  to  "SCHILLING." 
The  stamps  were  printed  in  sheets  of 
100,  in  ten  rows  of  ten,  upon  white 
wove  paper,  and  were  rouletted  in  line 
about  IV/2.  This  value  was  intended 
for  local  letters  and  superseded  the 
split  stamps  which  had  been  allowed  to 
be  used  previously.  It  was  issued  on 
February  22nd,  1865. 

On  June  1st,  following,  another  value 
of  similar  design  but  of  the  value  of 
1^4  schilling  was  issued. 

The  IJ^sch,  not  being  the  exact  equiv- 
alent of  1  silbergroschen,  a  decree  was 
published  on  August  5th,  1865,  author- 
izing the  issue  of  l^sch  stamps— the 
exact  value  of  a  silbergroschen.  It  was 
stated,  at  the  same  time,  that  for  the 
future  this  value  must  be  "affixed  to  all 
letters  addresed  to  places  within  the 
German-Austrian  Postal  Union.  This 
stamp  differs  a  little  from  the  two  pre- 
ceding values  for  the  whole  of  the  value 
is  now  denoted  in  the  center,  viz : — \l/z 
SCHILLING  (=lsgr).  This  occupies 
three  lines  and  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  inscribed  band  a  star  takes  the  place 
of  the  word  "SCHILLING." 

On  the  30th  of  June,  1865,  the  duchies 
concluded  a  convention  with  Denmark 
fixing  the  rate  on  single  letters  to  that 
country  at  2  schilling.  This  led  to  the 
issue  of  another  stamp,  similar  in  de- 
sign to  the  ^asch,  but  with  a  large 
numeral  "2."  in  the  center. 


91 


In  September,  1865,  another  addition 
to  the  set  was  made — a  4sch  stamp  being 
issued  as  representing  the  3  silbergrps- 
chen  rate  within  the  German  Austrian 
Postal  Union.  This  is  similar  in  de- 
sign to  the  l^sch  and  shows  the  value 
in  schilling  and  its  equivalent  in  silber- 
groschen  in  the  central  oval. 


Reference  List. 

1865.  No.   wmk.      Rouletted   Iiy2. 

7.  J^sch  carmine,   Scott's  No.  3. 

8.  IJ-^sch   green,    Scott's    No.    4. 

9.  l^sch  lilac,  Scott's  No.  5. 

10.  2sch   ultramarine,   Scott's    No.   6. 

11.  4sch   bistre,   Scott's   No.   7. 


Period      F — Schleswig      Governed      by 
Prussia. 

Shortly  after  the  issue  of  the  4sch 
of  the  last  series  disagreements  arose 
between  Prussia  and  Austria.  These 
were  patched  uo  and  resulted  in  the 
Convention  of  Gastein  by  the  terms  of 
which  Schleswig  was  awarded  to  Prus- 
sia, while  Austria  received  Holstein  and 
Lauenburg.  The  natural  result  was 
that  separate  series  for  the  two  duchies 
were  again  required.  It  was  also  in- 
tended to  issue  special  stamps  for 
Lauenburg  but  this  fell  through  as 
Prussia  purchased  this  territory  from 
Austria  for  $1,411,250  and  amalgamated 
it  with  Schleswig. 

The  new  stamps  for  Schleswig  were 
issued  on  November  1st,  1865,  the  de- 
nominations being  exactly  the  same  as 
those  previously  in  use.  The  designs 
were  similar  to  those  of  the  Schleswig- 
Holstein  issue  of  1865  but  with  the  up- 
per inscription  altered  to  "HERZOGTH. 
SCHLESWIG." 

These  stamps,  like  those  of  the  pre- 
ceding series,  were  manufactured  at  the 
State  Printing  Works  in  Berlin.  They 
were  printed  in  sheets  of  100  on  white 
wove  paper,  and  were  rouletted  1154. 

The  l^sch  varies  considerably  in 
color  being  found  in  numerous  shades 
of  lilac,  mauve  and  purple,  and  also  in 
an  almost  pure  grey. 

Reference  List. 

Nov.  1st,  1865.     Rouletted  11^. 

12.  i^sch   green,    Scott's    No.   8. 

13.  l^sch    lilac,    Scott's    No.    10   or   lOa. 

14.  l^sch   rose,   Scott's   No.   11. 

15.  2sch   ultramarine,    Scott's   No.  12. 

16.  4sch  greybrgwn,  Scott's  No.  14, 


Period  G — Holstein:  Governed  by  Aus- 
tria. 

FIRST  ISSUE. 

Co-incident  with  the  issue  of  separate 
stamps  for  Schleswig  a  separate  series 
was  also  issued  for  Holstein.  An  offi- 
cial notice,  dated  from  Kiel,  October 
5th,  1865,  informed  the  public  that  the 
series  heretofore  in  common  use  in  both 
duchies  would  be  replaced  by  a  new 
series  on  November  1st  following  and 
that  thereafter  only  the  new  stamps 
would  be  accepted  for  postal  service 
within  the  Duchy  of  Holstein. 

The  values  in  the  new  set  corre- 
sponded with  those  previously  in  use 
and  were  also  similar  to  those  in  the 
series  provided  for  Schleswig.  The 
five  values  fall  into  two  types:  the  l/2, 
\l/4  and  2sch  being  of  one  design  and 
the  ll/3  and  4sch  of  another. 

In  the  first  of  these  the  numerals  of 
values  are  shown  in  the  center  on  an 
oval  of  solid  color  while  the  inscrip- 
tions on  the  surrounding  frame  are  in 
white  letters  on  a  colored  ground. 
These  inscriptions  are  "HERZOGTH. 
HOLSTETN"  in  the  upper  part,  and 
"SCHILLING"  in  the  lower,  small  stars 
separating  them  from  each  other. 

The  design  for  the  1^  and  4sch  is 
exactly  like  that  employed  in  the  previ- 
ous series  for  the  combined  use  of  the 
duchies,  the  value  in  the  center  having 
its  equivalent  value  shown  in  silber- 
groschen. 

The  dies  were  engraved  by  M.  Claud- 
ius and  the  stamps  were  printed  in 
sheets  of  100  by  Messrs.  Kobner  &  Co. 
of  Altona.  They  were  printed  on  white 
wove  paper  and  were  rouletted  8.  The 
stamps  were  embossed  but  the  relief  is 
very  poor  and  much  inferior  to  the 
stamps  of  similar  type  printed  by  the 
State  Printing  Works,  Berlin. 


Reference  List. 

Nov.  1st,  1865.     Rouletted  8. 

17.  '/2sch  pale  green,  Scott's  No.  19. 

18.  l^sch   pale  mauve,   Scott's   No.   20, 

19.  l^sch  carmine,  Scott's  No.  23. 

20.  2sch   pale   blue,    Scott's   No.   21. 

21.  4sch  bistre,  Scott's  No.  25, 


SECOND   ISSUE. 

The  design  of  the  stamps  with  in- 
scriptions in  white  on  color  did  not 
meet  with  the  approval  of  the  ^author- 
ities though  they  accepted  them.  When, 
however,  new  supplies  of  the  1J4  and  2 
schilling  were  required  in  March  and 
August,  1866,  respectively,  the  opportun- 
ity was  taken  of  changing  the  design. 
In  this  second  issue,  therefore,  the  in- 
scriptions are  in  color  on  an  engine 
turned  band.  These  values  were  not  em- 
bossed, though,  like  the  similar  values 
of  the  first  issue,  they  were  printed  by 
Messrs.  Kobner  and  Co.  The  stamps 
were  printed  in  sheets  of  100  on  white 
wove  paper  and  though  normally  roul- 
letted  8  both  values  may  be  found  rou- 
letted  7. 

Reference   List. 

1866.     Typographed.      Rouletted  8. 
22.     ll/4sch  mauve,   Scott's   No.  22. 
2::.     2sch   blue,    Scott's    No.    24. 


Period     H.     Schleswig     and     Holstein 
United  with  Prussia. 

The  division  of  the  duchies  between 
Austria  and  Prussia  did  not  entirely 
allay  the  difficulties  between  the  two 
and  after  a  time  strained  relations  en- 
sued and  ultimately  war  resulted.  The 
war  was  of  short  duration  and  by  the 
Treaty  of  Prague,  of  August  23rd,  1866, 
Prussia  had  control  of  both  duchies. 
Xo  special  stamps  were  issued,  how- 
ever. For  a  time  each  duchy  used  its 
own  special  stamps  as  described  above, 
and  then,  on  November  5th,  1866,  a 
circular  was  issued  from  the  postal  de- 
partment notifying  that  the  stamps  of 


both  duchies  could  be  used  indiscrimi- 
nately. The  remaining  stocks  of  the 
joint  issue  for  the  two  duchies  (as  de- 
scribed under  Period  E)  were  also  put 
into  circulation  again.  When  formal  in- 
corporation with  Prussia  was  completed 
on  December  24th,  1866,  the  stamps  of 
that  State  were  likewise  available  for 
use  anywhere  within  the  duchies  so 
that  from  that  time,  until  the  stamps  of 
the  North  German  Confederation  were 
issued  on  January  1st,  1868,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Schleswig  and  Holstein  had 
ample  choice  as  to  the  kind  of  stamps 
they  might  use. 


REMAINDERS. 

When  the  special  stamps  were  super- 
seded by  the  general  issue  for  the  North 
German  Confederation  a  small  stock  of 
most  values  of  the  series  for  Schles- 
wig and  Holstein  as  well  as  of  the  issue 
for  the  combined  use  of  both  duchies 
remained  and  these  were  later  acquired 
by  M.  Moens.  The  quantities  of  the 
several  varieties  were  as  follows: 

Schleswig,  1864  Issue. 
\       schilling  173. 
4   schilling  21,000. 


,. 

Schleswig-Holstein,  1865  Issue. 
1A,  1%,  V/3,  2  and  4  schilling,  20,000  of 


each. 

Schlesivig,  1865  Issue. 

20,000  2sch,                20,000 

Ij4sch,            20,000  4sch,                20,000 
l^sch,            20,000 

Holstein,  1865   Issue. 

^sch,                1,000  I    2sch,                13,000 

l^sch,              none  4sch,               20,000 

7,000  I 


WURTEMBERG. 


The  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg  lies  be- 
tween Baden  and  Bavaria  and  touches 
Switzerland  (Lake  of  Constance)  on 
the  south.  It  entirely  surrounds  Hohen- 
zollern,  in  which  state,  as  well  as  in 
Baden,  it  owns  several  enclaves.  Its 
total  area  is  7529  square  miles  and  it 
has  a  population  of  about  three  millions. 
It  is  drained  for  the  most  part  by  the 
Neckar  and  its  tributaries,  while  the 
Danube  crosses  the  country  towards  the 
south.  The  most  striking  geographical 
feature  is  the  Swabian  Alb,  the  most 
characteristic  portion  of  the  South  Ger- 
man Jura.  The  Black  Forest  borders 
the  kingdom  on  the  west.  On  the  whole 
the  surface  lies  high  (3000  to  1500  feet), 
the  greater  part  belonging  to  one  or 
other  of  the  German  plateau  systems; 
but  there  are  many  valleys,  all  of  great 
fertility.  Agriculture  is  the  principal 
industry;  wine  and  fruit  are  produced 
in  large  quantity;  and  market  gardening 
is  actively  pursued  at  Stuttgart,  Ulm, 
Heilbronn  and  elsewhere.  Iron  and 
salt  are  mined  and  there  are  numerous 
mineral  springs  scattered  over  the  whole 
kingdom.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  man- 
ufacturing industry  of  a  varied  char- 
acter, the  more  important  branches  pro- 
ducing iron,  gold,  and  silver  goods, 
cutlery,  fire-arms,  machinery,  scientific 
and  musical  instruments,  chemicals, 
prints  and  books,  confectionery  and  beer. 
The  capitol  of  the  kingdom  is  Stuttgart. 

The  bulk  of  the  people  (69  per  cent.) 
are  Protestants ;  the  Roman  Catholics, 
who  have  a  bishop  at  Rottenburg, 
amount  to  30  per  cent.,  and  there  are 
about  12,000  Jews.  The  state  university 
is  at  Tubingen,  and  there  is  a  polytech- 
nical  high  school  at  Stuttgart.  Educa- 
tion stands  at  an  exceptionally  high  gen- 
eral level,  even  for  Germany;  there  is 
not  a  single  individual  in  the  kingdom 
over  ten  years  of  age  who  is  unable  to 
read  and  write.  Wurtemberg  has  four 
votes  in  the  Federal  Council,  and  re- 
turns seventeen  deputies  to  the  Imperial 
Diet.  The  Wurtemberg  troops  consti- 
tute the  13th  Army  Corps  of  the  German 
Army,  having  a  total  strength  of  about 
24,000.  The  king  is  a  hereditary  consti- 
tutional sovereign  and  he  is  assisted  by 
two  houses  of  parliament.  The  national 
receipts  and  expenditures  balance  at 
about  $17,500,000  per  annum,  while  the 
national  debt,  nearly  all  incurred  for 
railways,  stands  at  about  $110,000,000. 

The  territory  now  called  Wurtemberg, 
then  occupied  by  the  Suevi,  was  con- 
quered by  the  Romans  in  the  first  cen- 
tury, A.  D.  In  the  third  century  it  was 
settled  by  the  Germanic  Alemanni  and 


they,  in  turn  were  subdued  by  the 
Franks.  In  the  9th  century  it  was  in- 
corporated in  the  duchy  of  Swabia,  Ul- 
rich  (1241-65)  being  the  first  count.  In 
1495  the  reigning  count  was  made  a 
duke  of  the  empire.  Duke  Frederick  II, 
(1797-1816)  on  going  over  to  the  French 
was  rewarded  with  850  square  miles  of 
new  territory  and  an  addition  of  125,000 
subjects,  as  well  as  the  dignity  of  Elec- 
tor (1802).  In  Napoleon's  war  against 
Austria  (1805)  he  sided  with  the  French, 
and  his  troops  fought  with  them  down 
to  1813 ;  in  return  for  which  he  acquired 
the  kingly  title  and  an  increase  of  terri- 
tory which  more  than  doubled  the  num- 
ber of  his  subjects.  Throwing  in  her 
lot  with  Austria  in  1866,  Wurtemberg 
was  beaten  at  Konniggratz  and  Tauber- 
bischofsheim,  and  her  king  (Charles, 
1864-91)  was  compelled  to  purchase 
peace  from  Prussia  at  the  cost  of  an 
indemnity  of  $4,000,000. 


ITS  POSTAL  HISTORY. 

From  an  early  period  the  postal  service 
of  Wurtemberg  was,  with  some  inter- 
ruptions, in  the  hands  of  the  princely 
House  of  Thurn  and  Taxis,  but  by  an 
agreement  dated  March  22nd,  1851,  the 
Government  of  Wurtemberg  liberated 
itself  by  purchasing  the  postal  privileges 
from  July  1st  of  that  year  for  the  sum 
of  1,300,000  florins  (about  $525,000).  It 
then  proceeded  to  form  its  own  adminis- 
tration and  to  join  the  German-Austrian 
Postal  Union,  established  by  the  conven- 
tion of  April  6th,  1850.  As  one  of  the 
provisions  of  this  convention  required 
the  adoption  of  postage  stamps,  prepara- 
tions were  immediately  made  for  pro- 
viding them,  and  by  a  notice  of  October 
7th,  1851,  the  public  were  informed  that 
stamps  of  1,  3,  6  and  9  kreuzer  would 
be  on  sale  at  the  various  post  offices  on 
the  12th  of  that  month,  and  that  their 
use  would  commence  from  the  15th  of 
the  same  month.  In  design  these  stamps 
are  very  similar  to  those  of  Baden,  is- 
sued a  few  months  earlier.  All  values 
were  printed  in  black  on  colored  papers, 
the  design,  common  to  all,  mainly  fea- 
turing large  numerals  to  denote  the  re- 
spective denominations.  In  December, 
1856,  the  numeral  design  was  suppressed 
in  favor  of  a  new  one  showing  the 
Arms  of  the  kingdom.  The  values  were 
the  same  as  before  with  an  18kr  stamp 
in  addition,  and  all  were  printed  in  color 
on  white  paper,  the  paper  containing 
orange  colored  silk  threads  like  the 


94 


"Dickinson"  paper  employed  in  Great 
Britain.  In  June,  1858,  the  stamps  be- 
gan to  appear  on  plain  white  wove  paper, 
without  silk  threads,  while  about  No- 
vember, 1859,  perforation  was^  intro- 
duced. The  next  change,  occurring  in 
February,  1861,  was  a  somewhat  minor 
one  affecting  the  paper  which  was  much 
thinner  than  before.  In  1862,  the  1,  3,  6 
and  9  kreuzer  were  issued  with  a  per- 
foration gauging  10  instead  of  13^  as 
before,  while  in  1863-64  all  denomina- 
tions appeared  in  new  colors  conform- 
ing to  the  color  scheme  adopted  by  the 
German-Austrian  Postal  Union.  In  1865 
the  1,  3  and  6kr  were  issued  with  roulette 
instead  of  perforation,  the  9kr  followed 
in  1867  and  the  18kr  in  1868  and  in  the 
latter  year  a  new  value,  7kr,  also 
rouletted,  was  added  to  the  series.  In 
1868  the  Government  decided  to  abandon 
the  typographic  embossing  process  as  it 
was  foui.'d  too  expensive,  especially  in 
the  case  of  the  lower  denominations. 
Ordinary  typographic  printing  was 
adopted  and  with  the  new  process  a  new 
design  was  introduced.  In  this  the  main 
theme  was  a  large  numeral  in  the  cen- 
ter, to  denote  the  value,  surrounded  by 
suitable  inscriptions  and  ornamentation. 
A  post  office  notice,  dated  November 
27th,  1868,  stated  that  from  January  1st, 
1869,  the  new  1,  3  and  7kr  stamps  would 
be  issued  according  as  the  stocks  of  the 
former  issues  were  exhausted.  On  May 
3rd,  1869,  another  value  of  14kr  was 
added  to  the  series ;  on  December  1st, 
1872,  a  2kr  stamp  was  issued ;  and  on 
January  15th,  1873,  another  stamp  of  the 
value  of  9  kreuzer  appeared.  About  the 
same  time  a  70  kreuzer  stamp  of  the 
type  of  1856  was  issued,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  prepay  heavy  letters. 
Towards  the  end  of  1874  the  system  of 
rouletting  the  stamps  ceased,  a  new  per- 
forating machine,  with  a  gauge  of  11 
by  11  y2,  having  been  purchased.  The 
only  stamps  of  the  1869-73  series  per- 
forated by  this  machine  were  those  of 
the  1  kreuzer,  which  was  issued  in  No- 
vember, 1874,  as  before  it  was  necessary 
to  print  any  of  the  other  denominations 
the  design  was  altered. 

In  1874  it  was  decided  to  change  the 
currency,  which  up  to  then  was  that  of 
the  florin  of  60  kreuzer,  to  the  Imperial 
currency  of  marks  and  pfennige,  and 
January  1st,  1875,  was  decided  on  as  the 
date  upon  which  the  change  should  take 
effect.  A  Post-office  Notice  dated  De- 
cember 23rd,  1874,  announced  that  a 
stamp  of  20  pfennige  of  a  new  design 
would  be  issued  on  the  following  Jan- 
uary 1st  to '  take  the  place  of  the  7 
kreuzer,  as  soon  as  the  stock  of  that 
value  in  the  various  post  offices  was  ex- 
hausted. Prominent  numerals  are  again 


the  chief  feature  of  the  design  but  in 
place  of  "WURTTEMBERG,"  the  in- 
scription is  "K.WURTT.POST".  On 
May  28th,  1875,  a  further  notice  from 
the  post  office  announced  the  discontin- 
uance of  the  kreuzer  series  from  the  1st 
of  July  following  and  the  issue  of  a 
new  series  with  values  in  pfennige.  The 
new  stamps  were  3,  5,  10,  25  and  50 
pfennige  and  2  marks,  the  latter  taking 
the  place  of  the  70kr  stamp.  The  50pf 
as  originally  issued  was  printed  in  grey 
but  by  virtue  of  an  agreement  made 
with  the  Imperial  Post  Office  at  Berlin, 
its  color  was  changed  to  grey-green  in 
February,  1878.  In  November,  1881,  a  5 
mark  stamp  was  added  to  the  series,  this 
being  similar  in  design  to  the  rest  of  the 
set  except  that  the  central  portion  was 
uncolored  and  the  numeral  of  value  was 
printed  in  this  space  in  black  by  a  second 
operation.  On  January  1st,  1883,  a 
similar  change  in  the  color  of  the  num- 
eral was  extended  to  the  2  mark  stamp. 
Early  in  1890  the  colors  of  the  3,  5,  25 
and  50pf  stamps  were  changed  and  in 
1893  a  further  addition  was  made  to  the 
series  by  the  issue  of  a  2  pfennige  stamp. 
In  1900  two  new  values — 30  and  40  pfen- 
nige respectively — were  issued,  these  be- 
ing like  the  mark  denominations  with 
the  numerals  in  black  on  a  plain  ground. 
On  April  1st,  1902,  the  kingdom  of  Wur- 
temberg  ceased  the  issue  of  its  own 
separate  stamps,  those  for  the  German 
Empire  superseding  them. 

In  addition  to  its  stamps  for  ordinary 
use,  Wurtemberg  has  issued  Municipal 
Service  and  Official  stamps,  both  these 
special  series  still  continuing  in  use. 
The  Municipal  Service  stamps  were  first 
issued  in  July,  1875,  there  being  two  de- 
nominations, 5  and  10  pfennige.  The 
first  of  these  was  for  use  on  the  official 
correspondence  of  municipalities,  irre- 
spective of  weight,  and  the  lOpf  was 
for  use  on  money  orders  and  parcels. 
In  1880  the  color  of  the  5pf  was  changed 
from  mauve  to  green.  In  1897  a  change 
in  the  postal  rates  led  to  the  issue  of  a 
3pf  stamp  and  in  1900  other  regulations 
led  to  the  issue  of  2  and  25  pfennige 
values.  In  1906  all  five  values  were 
overprinted  with  the  dates  "1806-1906," 
surmounted  by  a  crown  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  centenary  of  Wurtemberg's 
being  raised  to  a  Kingdom.  In  1906-7  all 
five  values  were  printed  on  paper  water- 
marked with  a  design  of  crosses  and 
circles  and  at  the  same  time  20  and  50 
pfennige  values  were  added  to  the  set. 

Until  April  1st,  1881,  the  correspond- 
ence of  the  ministerial  offices  was  con- 
veyed free  of  charge,  but  on  the  sup- 
pression of  this  privilege  a  series  of 
stamps  of  special  design  was  issued  for 
use  on  official  correspondence.  The 


values  at  first  issued  were  3,  5,  10,  20,  25 
and  50  pfennige,  but  in  1882  a  1  mark 
stamp  was  added.  In  1890  the  colors  of 
the  3, 5  and  25pf  and  1  mark  were  changed 
to  conform  with  those  of  the  regular 
series.  The  color  of  the  50pf  was  also 
changed  shortly  afterwards  and  in  1900 
a  2pf  stamp  was  added  to  the  set.  In 
1903,  30  and  40  pfennige  stamps  were 
issued  in  colors  corresponding  to  those 
of  the  ordinary  stamps  of  1900,  while  in 
1906  all  denominations  were  overprinted 
in  a  similar  manner  to  the  Municipal 
Service  stamps.  During  1906-7  all  de- 
nominations appeared  on  the  new  paper 
watermarked  with  circles  and  crosses. 


THE  FIRST  ISSUE. 

The  Government  of  Wurtemberg  ob- 
tained control  of  its  own  postal  service 
in  1851  when,  as  I  have  already  shown 
in  my  preceding  notes,  it  was  purchased 
from  the  Prince  of  Thurn  and  Taxis. 
The  first  series  of  stamps  consisting  of 
1,  3,  6  and  9  kreuzer  values  were  placed 
on  sale  to  the  public  on  the  12th  Octo- 
ber, 1851,  though  their  use  for  postal 
purposes  did  not  commence  until  three 
days  later.  In  April,  1852,  a  new  de- 
nomination— 18  kreuzer — was  added  to 
the  set  and  as  the  design  is  similar  to 
that  of  the  lower  values,  all  can  best  be 
treated  as  one  set.  To  quote  the  late 
Mr.  W.  A.  S.  Westoby:  "The  resem- 
blance between  the  stamps  of  the  first 
series  of  Wurtemberg  and  those  of  the 
first  series  of  Baden  is  so  remarkable  as 
to  leave  no  doubt  that  the  Government 
of  Wurtemberg  availed  itself  of  the  re- 
sults of  the  investigations  made  by  that 
of  Baden  previously  to  the  issue  of  the 
first  series  for  this  latter  State,  on  May 
1st,  1851.  The  dies  were  similarly  con- 
structed, the  inscriptions  were  similar, 
mutatis  mutandis,  and  the  stamps  were 
printed  on  colored  paper.  The  matrix 
die  was  composite,  the  numeral  of  value 
in  the  center  being  within  a  frame,  al- 
most square,  of  9^  mm.  placed  angle 
upwards  within  a  frame  measuring  ex- 
ternally 22^  by  22  mm.  and  internally 
15^2  by  15  mm.  and  carrying  the  follow- 
ing inscriptions  on  tablets  :  In  the  upper 
one,  running  the  whole  width,  was 
'Wurttemberg,'  and  on  a  similar  tablet  at 
the  foot  was  'Freimarke/  with  an  orna- 
ment at  each  end  resembling  a  vine 
branch  with  the  two  bunches  of  grapes, 
the  lower  one  of  which  was  incomplete. 
On  the  tablet  on  the  left  side  was'Deutsch- 
Oestr.  Postverein,'  and  on  another  on 


the  right  side  'Vertrag  v.  6  April  1850. 
These  were  set  up  in  movable  type,  the 
upper  and  lower  ones  in  ordinary  Ger- 
man lower  case  characters  with  capital 
initials,  and  those  on  the  sides  in  diamond 
type,  as  in  those  of  Baden.  The  spaces 
between  the  rectangle  carrying  the  num- 
eral of  value  and  the  inner  line  of  the 
frame  were  filled  in  with  arabesque  or- 
naments." 

The  design  is  similar  for  all  values 
with  the  exception  of  the  central  portion 
carrying  the  numerals.  In  the  case  of 
the  1  and  6  kreuzer  the  background  is 
composed  of  lines  running  parallel  to 
the  sides  of  the  rectangle  making  a  de- 
sign of  small  squares;  in  the  3  kreuzer, 
the  ground  consists  of  small  ovals;  in 
the  9  kreuzer  the  ground  is  composed 
of  small  circles  resembling  lace  work; 
while  on  the  18  kreuzer  the  background 
is  formed  of  horizontal  lines. 

The  dies  were  engraved  at  the  Mint 
in  Stuttgart,  where  the  electrotypes  com- 
posing the  printing  plates  were  also 
made.  The  printing  was  done  under  the 
direction  of  the  post  office,  in  typo- 
graphic presses,  the  sheets  consisting  of 
sixty  stamps  arranged  in  ten  rows  of  six. 
All  denominations  were  printed  in  black 
on  colored  papers.  The  paper  was  ob- 
tained locally  and  while  it  is  always  wove, 
it  varies  considerably  in  thickness  and 
most  values  provide  numerous  shades. 
The  stamps  were  all  issued  imperforate. 

Mr.  Westoby  tells  us  that,  "It  may  be 
noted  that  occasionally  one  or  both  of 
the  full  stops  are  wanting  after  the  'v' 
or  the  '6'  in  the  inscription  in  the  right 
tablet  of  the  3  kreuzer,  and  there  is  a 
difference  in  the  position  of  the  stop 
after  the  word  'Postverein'  in  the  left 
tablet.  The  first  of  these  is  probably 
due  to  imperfections  in  the  moulds  from 
which  the  electrotypes  were  made,  while 
the  second  points  to  the  making  of  new 
plates." 

Mr.  Robert  Ehrenbach,  writing  in  the 
London  Philatelist  for  August,  1893, 
points  out  that  differences  in  the  posi- 
tion of  the  period  after  "Postverein" 
may  be  found  in  all  values  except  the 
18kr.  There  are  three  types  in  all.  In 
Type  I  the  period  is  between  the  second 
and  third  points  of  the  zigzag  lines  of 
the  border;  in  type  II  it  is  exactly  over 
the  second  point;  and  in  type  III  it  is 
exactly  above  the  third  point.  All  three 
types  are  found  on  the  3  kreuzer,  types 
I  and  II  are  found  in  the  1,  6  and  9 
kreuzer,  while  the  ISkr  is  known  only 
with  the  first  type.  Whether  the  varie- 
ties are  found  side  by  side  on  the  same 
sheet  or  are  the  distinguishing  points 
of  separate  plates  we  are  not  told. 


20  ii  r  H  r  m  b  erg. 


crcnce  List. 


1851-52.     Imperf. 

1.      Ikr  black  on  buff,  Scott's  No.  1. 
L'.     :;kr  black  on  yellow,   Scott's   No.  2  or  3. 
:;.      t;kr  black  on  green,  Scott's  No.  4  or  4a. 
4.     !>kr  black  on  rose,  Scott's  No.  f>  or  fia. 
."..    iskr  black  on  lilac,  Scott's   No.  6. 


THE  SECOND  ISSUE. 

Although  it  is  obvious  that  the  design 
of  Wurtemberg's  first  stamps  was  in- 
spired by  the  numeral  series  for  Baden, 
it  was  not  long  befoie  more  original 
ideas  prevailed  and  an  entirely  new 
series  of  stamps  was  issued.  The  new 
design  shows  the  Arms  of  the  kingdom, 
with  supporters  and  motto,  embossed 
in  colorless  relief  on  a  ground  work 
of  color  covered  with  white  horizontal 
loops.  This  is  contained  within  a  rec- 
tangular frame,  measuring  22^  mm. 
square,  which  is  inscribed  "FREI- 
MARKE"  at  the  top  and  with  the  value 
on  each  of  the  other  three  sides.  The 
inscriptions  are  all  in  Roman  capitals 
and  the  design  is  completed  by  the  ad- 
dition of  small  six-rayed  stars  in  each 
of  the  angles.  An  excellent  description  of 
the  Arms  design  appeared  in  Gibbons' 
Stamp  Weekly  for  September  5th,  1908, 
which  I  cannot  do  better  than  repro- 
duce : — 

In  1817,  King  William  of  Wur- 
temberg  simplified  the  Arms  of  the 
kingdom,  the  proper  arms  of  the  royal 
house  having  become  too  complicated 
through  additions  at  various  times. 
The  arms  now  consist  of  an  oval 
shield  divided  into  two  parts  or  fields, 
surrounded  by  a  wreath  of  oak  leaves, 
in  gold,  surmounted  by  a  gold  helmet 
bearing  a  royal  crown. 

The  two  fields  are: — 

On  the  right,  for  Wurtemberg,  three 
stag's  antlers,  in  black,  placed  one 
upon  the  other,  on  a  golden  field;  the 
upper  antlers  having  each  four  points, 
the  lower  one  but  three.  These  are 
the  original  arms  of  the  counts  of 
Wurtemberg,  and  have  reference  to 
their  office  of  Hereditary  Grand 
Huntsman. 


On  the  left,  for  Swabia,  three  blaJc 
lions,  one  above  the  other,  also  on  a 
golden  field;  the  lions  have  their 
tongues  hanging  out  of  their  mouths, 
and  their  right  paws  are  raised.  These 
are  the  three  lions  of  Hohenstauffen, 
and  were  only  added  to  the  arms  of 
Wurtemberg  in  1806  by  King  Fred- 
erick, in  memory  of  the  famous  fam- 
ily of  Hohenstauffen,  which,  in  for- 
mer times  occupied  the  country  which 
now  forms  Wurtemberg. 

The  supporters  of  the  shield  are, 
on  the  right,  a  black  lion  bearing  a 
golden  crown;  and  on  the  left,  a 
golden  stag.  The  proper  colors  for 
the  ribbon  bearing  the  motto  are 
purple  with  a  black  reverse,  and  the 
motto  itself,  in  gold  letters,  reads 
"Furchtloss  und  treie,"  i.  e.  "Fearless 
and  true." 

The  design  is  the  same  for  all  de- 
nominations, varying  only  in  the  desig- 
nation of  value.  The  dies  were  en- 
graved and  the  electrotypes  made  at  the 
Mint  in  Stuttgart.  The  printing  form 
for  each  value  consisted  of  sixty  elec- 
trotypes, arranged  in  ten  rows  of  six, 
which  were  separated  as  a  rule  by  a 
space  of  only  Y^  mm. 

The  paper  varies  considerably  in  thick- 
ness and  that  at  first  employed  con- 
tains orange  colored  silk  threads  similar 
to  the  "Dickinson"  paper,  found  in  con- 
nection with  some  of  the  early  British 
stamps.  These  silk  threads  were  so 
placed  that  they  traversed  the  stamps  in 
a  horizontal  direction,  one  thread  being 
apportioned  to  each  horizontal  row  of 
stamps.  This  paper  was  apparently  ob- 
tained from  Bavaria. 

The  values  in  this  new  series  corre- 
sponded exactly  to  those  previously  in 
use,  the  set  being  issued  on  Sept.  22nd, 
1857,  according  to  Mr.  Westoby,  Mr. 
Ehrenbach,  and  other  writers  on  the 
subject.  In  the  Monthly  Journal  some 
few  years  ago  a  copy  of  the  9kr  was 
reported  with  cancellation  dated  Dec. 
30th,  1856,  and  on  the  strength  of  this 
Gibbons'  catalogue  assigns  the  date  De- 
cember, 1856,  to  the  whole  series.  This 
seems  particularly  slender  evidence  on 
which  to  antedate  the  whole  issue  by 
some  nine  months  for  the  cancellation 
might  easily  have  been  an  error  for 
1857.  We  should  like  to  hear  of  other 
early  dated  specimens  before  accepting 
1856  as  the  correct  date  of  issue. 

Most  of  the  stamps  of  this  set  vary 
in  shade  but  these  variations  are  not 
very  striking  being,  as  a  rule,  confined 
to  pale  and  deep  tints. 


Reference  List. 

Sept.,    1857  (?).     Silk    thread    paper.     Imperf. 

6.  Ikr  brown,  Scott's  No.  7,  8  or  8a. 

7.  3kr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  9  or  9a. 

8.  6kr  green,  Scott's  No.  10  or  lOa. 

9.  9kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  11  or  lla. 
10.  18kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  12  or  12a. 


THE  THIRD  ISSUE. 

If  we  accept  the  date  of  September, 

1857,  as  correct  for  the  second  issue  the 
use  of  the  silk-thread  paper  lasted  but 
a   very   short   time    for    in   June,    1858, 
the  stamps  began  to  appear  on  white- 
wove     machine     made     paper,     without 
threads.     This    paper    is    usually    fairly 
thick  but,  like  that  of  the  preceding  is- 
sue,   it   varies    in    texture.     The    sheets 
contained  sixty  stamps  as  before  but  the 
electrotypes    were    re-arranged    so    that 
the   spaces   between   them   varied    from 
\l/2  mm.  to  1^4  mm. 

An  interesting  variety  of  the  Ikr  of 
this  issue  is  described  in  the  Monthly 
Journal  for  September,  1904,  viz : — 
"Mr.  Giwelb  has  shown  our  publishers 
a  copy  of  the  1  kreuzer  with  a  clear  im- 
pression on  the  back  reading  the  right 
way.  Probably  a  sheet  that  was  defec- 
tive in  some  part  of  the  impression  was 
passed  through  the  press  again,  for  the 
sake  of  economy,  but  it  is  not  the  silk 
thread  paper.  The  specimen  is  post- 
marked Stuttgart,  1  Jun  1867." 

The  stamps  of  this  issue  are  almost 
exactly  like  the  corresponding  stamps  on 
the  silk  thread  paper  and  variations  in 
shade  are  of  little  consequence  with  the 
exception  of  the  Ikr.  This  value  exists 
in  two  very  striking  shades  of  brown 
one  being  yellowish  and  the  other  al- 
most a  black-brown. 

Reference  List. 

1858.  Without  silk  threads.     Imperf. 

11.  Ikr  brown,  Scott's  No.  13  or  14. 

12.  3kr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  15  or  15a. 

13.  6kr  green,  Scott's  No.  16  or  16a. 

14.  9kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  17  or  17a. 

15.  18kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  18  or  18a. 


tion  machine  was  ordered  from  Vienna 
on  the  joint  account  of  the  postal  ad- 
ministrations of  Baden  and  Wurtemberg 
and  this  was  set  up  at  Carlsruhe.  This 
machine  was  of  the  harrow  type  and 
was  capable  of  perforating  an  entire 
sheet  of  100  stamps  at  one  operation, 
its  gauge  being  13^.  Although  the 
machine  was  primarily  intended  for  use 
on  sheets  of  100  stamps  those  of 
Wurtemberg  remained  the  same  as  be- 
fore, i.  e.  sixty  impressions  in  ten  rows 
of  six.  Some  of  the  perforated  values 
began  to  be  circulated  in  November, 
1859.  The  paper,  color,  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  cliches  remained  as  before. 

Reference  List. 

1859-60.     Thick  paper.     Perf.  13 Y2. 

16.  Ikr  brown.Scott's  No.  19. 

17.  3kr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  20  or  20a. 

18.  6kr  green,  Scott's  No.  21. 

19.  9kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  22. 


THE  FIFTH  ISSUE. 

The  next  change,  though  it  affected 
all  the  values,  was  a  somewhat  minor 
one.  It  was  found  that  the  paper  was 
a  little  too  thick  for  easy  working  in 
the  perforating  machine  and,  beginning 
with  February,  1861,  a  much  thinner 
paper  was  employed.  The  Ic  of  this 
series  exists  in  a  number  of  distinct 
shades  ranging  from  a  palish  brown  to 
an  almost  black-brown.  The  3kr  and 
18kr  differ  in  tint  a  little,  while  the  9kr 
is  found  in  two  colors.  The  original 
shade  was  rose,  similar  to  that  of  the 
preceding  issues,  but  early  in  1862  the 
color  was  changed  to  a  dull  purple  or 
claret. 

Imperforate  specimens  are  known  of 
all  values  but  it  is  considered  doubtful 
that  any  were  ever  issued  for  use  in 
this  condition  though  postally  used 
specimens  are  known.  Mr.  Westoby 
ascribes  the  existence  of  these  imperfo- 
rate  varieties  to  "the  difficulty  attendant 
on  two  administrations  using  the  same 
perforating  machine." 


1861. 

20. 


Reference  List. 

Thin  paper.     Perf  13^. 


Ikr  brown,   Scott's   No.  23  or  24. 

21.  3kr  yellow,   Scott's   No.   25  or  25a. 

22.  6kr  green,  Scott's  No.  26. 

23.  9kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  27. 

24.  9kr  purple.  Scott's  No.  28. 

25.  18kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  29  or  29a. 


THE  FOURTH  ISSUE. 

In  describing  the  stamps  of  Baden  I 
mentioned  that  in  July,  1859,  a  perfora- 


THE  SIXTH  ISSUE. 

During  the  second  quarter  of  1862,  it 
became  necessary  to  overhaul  the  perfo- 
rating machine  and  it  was  provided  with 


a  new  set  of  punches  having  a  gauge  of 
ten,  instead  of  Y6l/2  as  before.  Stamps 
with  the  new  perforation  began  to  ap- 
pear about  June,  1862,  and  all  except 
the  18kr  were  issued  by  the  end -of  the 
year.  The  18kr  in  blue  does  not  exist 
with  the  10  perforation,  as  plenty  of  the 
13^2  perforation  remained  in  stock  and 
by  the  time  more  were  required,  the 
color  was  changed.  The  9kr  is  known 
in  carmine  as  well  as  the  more  usual 
purple.  These  were  probably  due  to  one 
or  more  imperforate  sheets  of  the  pre- 
ceding issue,  having  been  found  and 
perforated  after  the  gauge  of  the  ma- 
chine had  been  changed. 

Reft 


ere  nee  List. 

Type  as  before  but  perf.   10. 

Ikr  brown,  Scott's  Xu.  :;». 
L'7.  Mkr  yellow,  Scott's  No.  Ml  or  Mia 

•  kr  green,  Scott's  Xo.  Ml.'. 
LI  i.  !»kr  purple,  Scott's  No.  33. 


28. 


THE  SEVENTH  ISSUE. 

The  German-Austrian  Postal  Union 
had  adopted  a  regulation  under  which 
all  the  members  of  the  Union  agreed  to 
use  the  same  colors  for  their  3,  6  and 
9  kreuzer  stamps.  An  order  of  the 
Minister  of  Finance  of  Wurtemberg, 
dated  September  12th,  1862,  directed, 
therefore,  that  to  conform  with  this 
regulation  the  stamps  would  for  the 
future  be  printed  in  green  for  the  1 
kreuzer,  in  rose  for  the  3  kreuzer,  in 
blue  for  the  6  kreuzer,  in  brown  for  the 
9  kreuzer,  and  in  orange  for  the  18 
kreuzer.  The  issue  in  the  altered  colors 
was  to  have  taken  place  on  October  1st, 
1862,  but  as  there  were  large  stocks  of  all 
values  in  the  old  colors  still  on  hand,  it 
was  decided  to  use  these  up  first.  Con- 
sequently, the  new  varieties  appeared  at 
various  times  as  follows  : — the  1  kreuzer 
in  February,  1863,  the  3  and  9  kreuzer 
in  June,  1863;  and  the  6  and  18  kreuzer 
in  June,  1864.  The  paper  and  perfora- 
tion were  as  before.  All  values  except 
the  18kr  exist  in  a  number  of  different 
shades.  Mr.  Ehrenbach  mentions  a 
minor  variety  of  the  3  kreuzer  which  is 
probably  worth  looking  for,  viz : — has 
a  prominent  flaw  in  the  upper  right 
corner — a  large  red  spot  on  a  ground 
of  white  instead  of  the  usual  white  star 
on  a  colored  ground. 

Reference  List. 

1863-64.     New  Colors.     Perf.  10. 

30.      Ikr  green,   Scott's   Xo.  M4.  M4a  or  M.". 
Ml.     Mkr  rose,   Scott's   Xo.  MO  or  MOa. 
ML'.     Ckr  blue,  Scott's  No.  37  or  37a. 
MM.     9kr  brown,  Scott's  No.  38,  39  or  M9a. 
M4.   ISkr  orange,   Scott's  No.  4O. 


THE  EIGHTH  ISSUE. 

With  the  increasing  use  of  postage 
stamps  the  Wurtemberg  Government 
found  considerable  inconvenience  and 
delay  was  occasioned  by  having  to  send 
them  to  Carlsruhe  to  be  perforated  and 
this  inconvenience  became  so  great  in 
time  that  the  administration  at  Stuttgart 
ordered  a  machine  from  Berlin  for 
rouletting  the  stamps  in  line,  similar  to 
the  Prussian  stamps  of  1861.  This 
machine  was  set  up  in  August,  1865, 
and  the  first  stamps  rouletted  by  it  were 
delivered  in  October  following  though 
it  was  not  until  June,  1866,  that  the  issue 
of  the  1,  3,  and  6  kreuzer  was  made; 
and  these  were  followed  by  the  9  kreuzer 
in  March,  1867;  and  by  the  18  kreuzer 
in  February,  1868.  The  electrotypes  all 
appear  to  have  been  re-set  and  the  dis- 
tance between  the  stamps  is  now  2  mm. 

On  November  23rd,  1867,  an  agree- 
ment was  made  with  the  North  German 
Confederation  by  which  the  2  silber- 
groschen  rate  was  raised  from  6  to  7 
kreuzer.  The  Wurtemberg  public  were 
informed  of  this  change  by  means  of  a 
post-office  notice  dated  April  2nd,  1868, 
and  at  the  same  time  it  was  stated  that 
6,  9,  and  18  kreuzer  values  would  cease 
to  be  manufactured  though  they  would 
continue  available  for  postage  purposes 
till  the  stocks  were  exhausted.  The 
color  chosen  for  the  new  value  was 
blue  though  it  was  of  a  darker  color 
than  that  used  for  the  superseded  6kr 
denomination. 

Reference  List. 
1865-68.     Types  as  before.     Rouletted  10. 

35.  Ikr  green.  Scott's  No.  41. 

36.  3kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  42  or  42a. 

37.  6kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  48. 

38.  7kr  deep  blue,  Scott's  No.  44  or  44a. 

39.  9kr  brown,  Scott's  No.  45,  45a  or  45b. 

40.  ISkr  orange,  Scott's  No.  46. 


THE  NINTH  ISSUE. 

The  typographic  embossing  method  of 
production  was  found  to  be  very  ex- 
pensive, especially  in  the  case  of  the  low 
denominations,  and  in  1868  the  Govern- 
ment decided  to  abandon  it  in  favor  of 
ordinary  typographic  printing.  That  a 
considerable  saving  would  be  effected  by 
the  new  method  is  conclusively  shown 
from  the  statement  that  while  it  cost  1 
kreuzer  to  produce  22  stamps  by  the 
embossed  process  46  stamps  could  be 
produced  for  the  same  sum  by  the  plain 
typographic  process.  On  November  27th, 

1868,  a  Post-office  circular  was  published 
giving    notice    that    from    January    1st, 

1869,  stamps  of  a  new  design  of  1,  3, 
and  7  kreuzer  would  be  issued  accord- 
ing as  the  stocks  of  the   former  series 


were  exhausted.  The  actual  date  of  is- 
sue of  these  values  is  not  known.  On 
May  3rd,  1869,  another  value  of  14 
kreuzer  was  issued  in  the  same  design, 
and  on  December  2nd,  1872,  a  2  kreuzer 
value  was  added  to  the  set.  Early  in 
1873  the  rate  for  single  letters  sent  to 
England,  France,  or  the  United  States 
by  way  of  Bremen  or  Hamburg  was 
fixed  at  9  kreuzer  and  on  January  15th 
a  stamp  of  "this  value  was  issued  corre- 
sponding in  design  to  the  other  denomi- 
nations then  current. 

The  design  is  the  same  for  all  six 
values  and  shows  large  uncolored 
shaded  numerals  in  the  centre  on  a 
ground  of  crossed  lines,  within  an  up- 
right oval  with  a  band  of  oak  leaves 
around  the  edge.  Around  this  is  an 
oval  band  of  horizontal  lines  inscribed 
"POST"  at  the  left,  "FREI"  at  the  top, 
and  "MARKE"  on  the  right,  while  there 
is  a  small  posthorn  at  the  bottom.  The 
various  inscriptions  are  separated  by 
small  ornamental  scrolls.  Surrounding 
this  is  another  inscribed  oval  band  con- 
taining, on  an  uncolored  ground,  the 
name  "WURTTEMBERG"  at  the  top 
and  the  value  in  words  at  the  base,  the 
two  inscriptions  being  separated  by 
small  crowns.  In  the  spandrels  are 
small  shields  containing  three  lions  in 
the  upper  left  and  lower  right  corners 
and  stag's  horns  on  the  others. 

The  die  was  engraved  at  Stuttgart,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  previous  issues,  the 
stamps  being  printed  in  sheets  of  sixty, 
in  ten  rows  of  six,  on  plain  white  wove 
paper.  The  printing  was  heavy,  conse- 
quently the  design  is  generally  found 
deeply  indented  in  the  paper.  The 
stamps  were  rouletted  with  the  machine 
used  for  the  preceding  series. 


Reference  List. 

1869-73.     Rouletted  10. 

41.  Ikr  green,  Scott's  No.  47  or  47a. 

42.  2kr  orange,  Scott's  No.  48  or  48a. 
48.     3kr  rose,  Scott's  No.  49. 

44.  7kr  blue,  Scott's  No.  50. 

45.  9kr  bistre,  Scott's  No.  51  or  51a. 

46.  14kr  orange,  Scott's  No.  52  or  52a. 


THE  TENTH  ISSUE. 

On  January  1st,  1873,  a  stamp  bearing 
the  fiscal  value  of  70  kreuzer  and  in 
the  Arms  type  of  1857  made  its  appear- 
ance. The  object  of  this  high  denomi- 
nation, as  shown  by  a  post  office  notice 


of  December  24th,  1872,  was  to  prepay 
heavy  letters.  Its  use  was  confined  to 
the  three  chief  post-offices  of  the  king- 
dom situated  at  Stuttgart,  Ulm,  and 
Heilbron,  and  the  stamp  was  not  per- 
mitted to  be  sold  to  the  public.  Any 
letters  requiring  these  high  value  stamps 
could  be  posted  at  other  offices,  when 
they  were  forwarded  under  official  cover 
to  one  of  the  three  above  named  offices, 
and  then  franked  with  the  70kr  stamps. 
The  design  of  this  value  is  exactly 
similar  to  that  of  the  series  of  1857, 
except  that  there  is  an  exterior  border 
fopied  of  small  dots.  The  stamps  were 
printed  in  sheets  of  six,  two  horizontal 
rows  of  three,  on  white  wove  paper  and 
were  not  perforated.  In  the  top  margin 
is  an  inscription  in  black  referring  to 
the  price  of  each  stamp  and  the  total 
value  of  each  sheet,  viz : — 

6.   St.  Postfreimarken  zu  70kr.=F1.1.10. 

=2  Mk. 
Ztisammen  im  Werthe  von  7  Fl.=4  Thl. 

=12  Mk. 

Two  plates  were  used  for  printing 
these  stamps  differing  chiefly  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  dotted  border.  Whether 
both  plates  were  used  concurrently  or 
at  separate  times  does  not  appear  to  be 
known  for  certain,  though  probably  the 
former  was  the  case  if  Mr.  Ehrenbach's 
statement  that  postmarks  of  the  same 
dates  are  found  on  stamps  from  both 
plates.  Mr.  Ehrenbach  gives  the  best 
description  of  the  differences  between 
the  two  plates,  viz  : — 

(1)  The  dark  shade    (believed  by 
most    people    to    be    the    first    plate). 
The    dimensions    of    the    little    black 
dotted     frame     running     round     the 
stamps  is  79^2  mm.  horizontally,  and 
53   vertically.     They  are  only  divided 
from   each  other  by  a  single  line  of 
little  black  dots.     The  stamps  are  3^4 
mm.  apart  from  one  another.     In  the 
inscription  over  the  top  row  there  is 
no   stop   after    the    word    "Mk.",    and 
the  two  little  lines  (denoting  equal  to) 
between  70kr,   1F1,   10,   etc.,   are  only 
Y$  mm.  wide. 

(2)  The    light    shade.     The    Arms 
in  the  stamps  are  more  embossed,  the 
stamps  show  a  somewhat  clearer  im- 
pression.    The      dimensions     of      the 
outer  border  are  77  mm.  by  52  mm. 
The  stamps   are  likewise   printed   3^4 
mm.  apart,  but  two  dotted  lines  (M  to 
1  mm.  apart)    divided  the  stamps  in- 
stead  of  one  only.     In   the  black  in- 
scription  on   the  top   there   is   a   stop 
after  "MK.",  and  the  lines  (equal  to) 
are  1^2  mm.  wide. 

Reference  List. 

1873.     Embossed.     Imperf. 

47.  70kr  violet,  Scott's  No.  53  or  53a. 


100 


THE  ELEVENTH  ISSUE. 

Towards  the  end  of  1874  the  perfo- 
rating by  rouletting  ceased  as  the  Gov- 
ernment purchased  a  new  perforating 
machine  having  a  gauge  of  \ll/2  by  11. 
The  only  value  of  the  kreuzer  series 
perforated  by  this  machine  was  the  Ikr 
which  was  issued  in  November,  1874. 
Before  it  was  necessary  to  print  further 
supplies  of  any  of  the  other  values  the 
design  was  changed  and  though  speci- 
mens are  known  with  this  perforation 
they  are  fraudulent  productions. 

Reference  List. 
1874.     Perf.    11^x11. 

48.      Ikr  green,  Scott's  No.  54. 


THE  TWELFTH  ISSUE. 

In  1874  it  was  decided  to  change  the 
currency, — which  up  to  that  time  had 
consisted  of  the  florin  of  60  kreuzer, 
similar  to  that  of  the  other  States  of 
south  Germany, — to  the  Imperial  cur- 
rency of  marks  and  pfennige,  and  Jan- 
uary 1st,  1875,  was  fixed  as  the  date  for 
the  change.  A  notice,  dated  December 
23rd,  1874,  was  issued  by  the  Post-office, 
stating  that  a  stamp  of  20  pfennige  of  a 
new  design  would  be  issued  on  that  day 
to  take  the  place  of  that  of  the  7  kreuzer, 
just  as  soon  as  the  stocks  of  the  latter 
value  held  in  the  various  post-offices 
were  exhausted. 

The  design  shows  uncolored  numerals 
on  a  circular  ground  of  lines  crossing 
each  other  diagonally,  above  which,  on 
a  curved  scroll  is  "K.  WURTT.  POST", 
while  on  a  similar  scroll  below,  the 
value  is  shown  in  words.  On  the  left 
is  a  shield  containing  three  stag's  horns 
and  on  the  right  are  three  lions  in  a 
similar  shield.  The  whole  is  enclosed 
by  an  ornamental  rectangular  frame 
measuring  21  by  lSl/2  mm. 

The  die  was  engraved  and  the  print- 
ing plates  were  constructed  at  the  Mint 
in  Stuttgart  and  the  printing  was  done 
under  the  direction  of  the  Post-office  as 
in  the  case  of  the  preceding  issues.  As 
the  new  currency  was  a  decimal  one  a 
change  in  the  size  of  the  plates  was 
made  and  the  stamps  were  printed  in 
sheets  of  100  arranged  in  ten  rows  of 
ten.  They  were  perforated  bv  the  new 
machine  gauging  11^  by  11. 

On  May  28th,  1875,  the  Post-office  is- 
sued another  notice  announcing  that 
from  July  1st  next  the  former  series 
of  stamps  in  kreuzer  would  be  entirely 
superseded  by  a  new  series  with  values 
in  pfennige.  These,  it  was  stated,  would 
be  on  sale  at  the  various  post  offices  on 
June  15th.  and  that  after  August  15th 
the  stamps  with  values  in  kreuzer  would 


cease  to  be,  valid  , for ,  postal  use.  'The 
new  denon)inatldns'  co-as4stetTipfy 3,*5,'10, 
15,  25,  and, 53  ^flfannige/  a^at  stfrjlftr 
type  to  the  20pf  already  described.  JAt* 
the  same  time  the  color  of  this  latter 
value,  which  had  hitherto  been  printed 
in  blue,  was  changed  to  ultramarine. 

About  the  same  time  a  2  marks  stamp 
of  similar  type  was  issued  in  place  of 
the  70  kreuzer.  Its  sale  was  prohibited 
to  the  public  and  its  use  was  at  first 
confined  to  the  offices  of  Stuttgart,  Ulm, 
and  Heilbronn,  though  later  it  was  ex- 
tended to  almost  every  post  office  in  the 
kingdom.  Notwithstanding  this  pro- 
hibition the  stamp  was  frequently  sold 
to  the  public,  as  appears  from  a  post- 
office  circular  of  August  18th,  1879,  and 
in  November  of  that  year  the  stamp 
was  printed  in  vermilion  on  orange 
colored  paper,  and  on  the  back  "un- 
verkauflich"  (not  to  be  sold)  was  printed 
in  ultramarine. 

The  50pf  was  at  first  printed  in  grey 
but  in  February,  1878,  consequent  on 
an  agreement  made  with  the  Imperial 
Post-office  at  Berlin,  its  color  was 
changed  to  grey-green. 

All  values  exist  in  a  number  of  more 
or  less  striking  shades  and  specialists 
will  also  find  that  most  of  them  exist 
with  yellow  and  white  gum,  the  latter 
representing  the  later  printings. 


Reference  List. 


1875-79.     Perf. 

49.  3pf  green,  Scott's  No.  55  or  55a. 

50.  5pf  violet,  Scott's  No.  56. 

51.  lOpf  rose,  Scott's  No.  57. 

52.  20pf  blue,  Scott's  No.  58a. 

53.  20pf  ultramarine,  Scott's  No.  58. 

54.  25pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  59. 

55.  50pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  60. 

56.  50pf  grey-green,  Scott's  No.  61. 

57.  2mk  orange,  Scott's  No.  62. 

58.  2mk  vermilion  on  orange,   Scott's  No. 


THE  THIRTEENTH  ISSUE. 

On  November  1st,  1881,  a  5  mark 
stamp  was  issued  and  though  this  was 
chiefly  intended  for  telegraphic  purposes 
it  was  also  available  for  postal  use. 
The  design  was  similar  to  that  of  the 
preceding  series  except  that  the  central 
circular  portion  was  uncolored,  and  the 
numeral  of  value  was  printed  on  it  in 
black  by  a  second  operation.  This  value 
was  reported  with  central  numeral  in- 
verted some  years  ago  and  though  the 


101 


error   is    listed    in    Scott's^-  catalogue    I 
cannot  -fthcT  that  its  px?$tehcf  was  ever 


auttienj  jcAted:  ,  " 

On'  January  1st,  1883,  the  2  mark 
stamp  was  also  issued  with  value  in 
black  on  an  uncolored  ground.  The 
value  is  known  in  two  distinct  shades 
and  is  also  known  imperforate,  a  sheet 
having  been  accidentally  issued  in  this 
condition. 


Reference  List. 

1881-83.     Perf.  11^x11. 

59.  2  marks  orange  and  black,   Scott's   No. 

64  or  64a. 

60.  5  marks  blue  and  black,  Scott's  No.  65. 


THE  FOURTEENTH  ISSUE. 

Early  in  the  year  1890  the  colors  of 
the  3,  5,  25,  and  50  pfennige  values  were 
changed  to  conform  with  those  of  the 
corresponding  denominations  of  Ger- 
many, while  in  1893  a  new  value,  2 
pfennige,  was  issued.  The  design  and 
perforation  remained  exactly  as  before. 
The  5pf  is  said  to  exist  imperforate. 

Reference  List. 


1890-93.     Perf. 

61.  2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  66. 

62.  3pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  67. 

63.  5pf  green,  Scott's  No.  68  or  68a. 

64.  25pf  orange,  Scott's  No.  69  or  69a. 

65.  50pf  red-brown,  Scott's  No.  70  or  70a. 


THE  FIFTEENTH  ISSUE. 

In  1900  the  set  was  enriched  by  the 
addition  of  30  and  40pf  values.  The 
design  was  exactly  like  that  of  the  other 
values  of  the  series,  but,  like  the  mark 
denominations,  the  numerals  of  value 
were  printed  at  a  second  operation  in 
black  on  a  plain  ground.  These  were 
the  last  stamps  issued  by  Wurtemberg 
for  general  use  for  in  1902  its  postal 
system  was  united  with  that  of  the  Im- 
perial government.  A  paragraph  in 
Alfred  Smith's  Monthly  Circular  re- 
ferred to  the  matter  as  follows : — 

An  agreement  has  been  concluded 
between  the  Imperial  Postal  Adminis- 
tration and  that  of  Wurtemberg  by 
which  the  postal  systems  are  to  be 
united  for  a  definite  period  of  four 
years  from  April  1st,  1902,  after 
which  it  will  be  subject  to  a  notice  of 


one  year  on  either  side.  On  the  date 
mentioned  the  separate  issues  of  each 
country  will  give  place  to  a  uni- 
fied series  inscribed  "DEUTSCHES 
REICH." 

Reference  List. 

1900.     Perf.  11^x11. 

66.  30pf  orange  and  black,  Scott's  No.  71. 

67.  40pf  rose  and  black,  Scott's  No.  72. 


MUNICIPAL   SERVICE   STAMPS. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  stamps 
issued  by  Bavaria  in  1908  for  the  use 
of  Railway  Officials  Wurtemberg  is  the 
only  German  State  that  has  issued  a 
regular  series  of  official  stamps.  These 
fall  into  two  classes — those  for  general 
use  and  those  for  the  use  of  municipali- 
ties. The  latter  class,  known  as  Mu- 
nicipal Service  stamps,  was  first  issued 
on  July  1st,  1875,  for  use  on  the  official 
correspondence  of  municipalities  within 
the  kingdom  of  Wurtemberg.  The  rate 
of  postage  was  fixed  at  5  pfennige  ir- 
respective of  the  weight  of  the  letters. 
A  stamp  of  this  value — printed  in  mauve 
like  the  ordinary  5pf  stamp  then  cur- 
rent— was  issued  in  a  special  design. 
In  the  centre  is  a  diamond  of  solid  color 
on  which  a  large  "5"  surrounded  by 
"POST-FREI-MARKE  PFENNIG"  is 
shown.  Around  this  is  a  lozenge  shaped 
band  inscribed  "PORTO  PFLIGHTIGE 
DIENST  SACHE"  meaning  "Service 
matter  liable  to  postage."  In  each  of 
the  four  angles  are  small  oval  shields 
showing  three  stag's  horns  on  their  left 
and  three  lions  on  their  right  hand 
sides.  The  design  is  completed  by  a 
thick  frame  line.  These  stamps,  like 
those  for  ordinary  use,  were  printed  in 
sheets  of  100,  the  dies  and  plates  being 
manufactured  at  the  Mint  in  Stuttgart 
and  the  printing  taking  place  under  the 
supervision  of  the  Post-office.  Imperfo- 
rate specimens  are  known  of  this  5pf 
stamp.  A  lOpf  stamp  of  similar  design 
was  issued  about  the  same  time  for  use 
on  parcels  and  money  orders. 

In  1890  the  color  of  the  5pf  was 
changed  to  green  to  conform  with  the 
change  of  color  in  the  corresponding 
value  of  the  ordinary  set.  Several  dis- 
tinct shades  of  this  variety  may  be 
found.  • 

On  January  10th,  1897,  a  new  value 
of  3  pfennige  in  brown  was  issued  and 
in  1900  a  2pf  in  grey  and  a  25pf  in 
orange  appeared.  The  design  of  all 
three  was  similar  to  that  of  the  first  5pf. 

In  1906  all  five  denominations  were 
overprinted  with  a  crown  above  the 
dates  "1806-1906"  in  commemoration  of 
the  centenary  of  Wurtemberg's  being 
raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  Kingdom. 


102 


In  1906  some  of  the  values  began  to 
appear  on  paper  watermarked  with  a 
multiple  device  of  crosses  and  circles 
and  by  the  following  year  all  values 
had  appeared  on  this  new  paper  and 
two  new  values — 20  and  50  pfennige — 
were  also  issued.  The  stamps  on  this 
watermarked  paper  were  printed  by  the 
German  Imperial  Printing  Office,  at 
Berlin,  and  apparently  the  plates  for 
the  two  new  values  were  also  made  in 
Berlin.  These  stamps  are  still  in  use 
for  the  agreement  between  the  Imperial 
Administration  and  that  of  Wurtem- 
berg  regarding  the  unified  series  of 
stamps  affected  those  for  public  use 
onlv. 


Reference  List. 

1875-1900.  Perf.  11^x11. 

66.  2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  218. 

67.  3pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  215. 

68.  opf  mauve,  Scott's  No.  201. 

69.  5pf  green,  Scott's  No.  216  or  217. 

70.  lOpf  rose,  Scott's  No.  202. 

71.  25pf  orange,  Scott's  No.  220. 


1806  -  1906 


1906.     Overprinted    in    black.     Perf. 

72.  2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  224. 

73.  3pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  226. 

74.  opf  green,  Scott's  No.  228. 

75.  lOpf  rose,  Scott's  No.  229. 
7»>.  25pf  orange,  Scott's  No.  233. 

1906-7.  Wmk.  Crosses  and  circles.  Perf. 

77.  2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  238. 

78.  3pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  239. 
70.     5pf  green,  Scott's  No.  240. 

80.  lOpf  rose,  Scott's  No.  241. 

81.  20pf  blue,  Scott's  No.  253. 

82.  25pf  orange,  Scott's  No.  242. 

83.  50pf  lake,  Scott's  No.  254. 


OFFICIAL  STAMPS. 

Until  April  1st,  1881,  the  correspond- 
ence of  the  ministerial  offices  was  con- 
veyed free  of  postage,  but  at  that  time 
the  privilege  was  taken  away  and  a 
series  of  special  stamps  was  issued  for 
use  on  all  official  correspondence.  M. 
Moens  described  their  issue  as  follows: 


Official    stamps    for    franking    cor- 
respondence connected  with  the  busi- 
ness  of   the   State,   churches,   schools, 
and  public  benevolent  institutions  were 
issued,  in  part,  on  the  first  of  April 
last,  in  terms  of  a  decree,  dated  26th 
March,     1881,     of     the     Ministry     of 
Churches   and    Schools.     Article   3   of 
this  Decree  sets  forth  that  "Delivery 
of  these  stamps  shall  be  made  against 
printed  acknowledgments  of  their  re- 
ceipt upon  forms  to  be  furnished  by 
the     post-office     department.     At     the 
end    of    every    month    the    post-office 
authorities   shall   prepare   a  statement 
of   number   of   receipts   in   their   pos- 
session   for   stamps    issued,   and   shall 
submit  it  to  our  Department  for  ex- 
amination and  payment." 
The  values  at  'first  issued  were  3,  5, 
10,  and  20  pfennige  and  these  were  fol- 
lowed   on    April    18th    by    25    and    50 
pfennige.     The     colors     correspond     to 
those   of    similar    denomination    of    the 
ordinary   series   then   current.     The   de- 
sign, which  is  the  same  for  all,  shows 
uncolored  labels  on  all  four  sides  and  a 
fifth    one    crossing    the    centre    of    the 
stamps  obliquely  from  the  left  lower  to 
the   right   upper   corner.     The   labels   at 
the  sides  are  inscribed  "K.  WURTT." 
at     the    left,     "*POST*"    at    the    top, 
"PFENNIG"  at  the  right,  and  the  value 
in  words  at  the  bottom.     The  diagonal 
label  contains  the  words  "AMTLICHER 
VERKEHR"    meaning    "Official    Busi- 
ness."    On    each    side    of    the    central 
label    are    escutcheons,    containing    the 
.numerals  of  value,  resting  on  an  orna- 
mental background. 

In  1882  a  new  value  of  1  mark  printed 
in  yellow  was  added  to  the  series. 

In  1890  the  colors  of  the  3,  5,  and 
25pf  were  altered  to  conform  with  those 
of  the  ordinary  stamps  and  at  the  same 
time  the  color  of  the  1  mark  was 
changed  to  violet.  Shortly  afterwards 
the  color  of  the  5pf  was  also  altered 
and  in  1900  a  2pf  stamp  was  added  to 
the  series. 

In  1903  30  and  40  pfennige  stamps 
were  issued  and  these,  like  the  ones  for 
ordinary  use  were  printed  at  two  opera- 
tions with  the  value  in  each  case  in 
black. 

In  1906  all  ten  values  were  overprinted 
in  a  similar  manner  to  the  Municipal 
Service  stamps  in  commemoration  of  the 
hundredth  anniversary  of  Wurtemberg's 
existence  as  a  kingdom,  and  in  1906-7 
all  denominations  were  issued  on  the 
watermarked  paper  used  for  the  Mu- 
nicipal Service  stamps  of  the  same  date. 
These  latter  were  printed  in  Berlin  by 
the  German  Imperial  Printing  Office  and 
they  are  still  in  use. 


J03 


Reference  List. 

1881-82.     Perf.  11^x11. 

84.  3pf  green,  Scott's  No.  203. 

85.  5pf  mauve,   Scott's   No.  204. 

86.  lOpf  rose,  Scott's  No.  205. 

87.  20pf  blue,  Scott's  No.  206. 

88.  25pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  207'. 

89.  50pf  grey-green,  Scott's  No.  208. 

90.  Imk  yellow,  Scott's  No.  209. 


1890-1903.     Perf. 

91.  2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  219. 

92.  3pf  brown,   Scott's   No.  210. 

93.  5pf  green,  Scott's  No.  211. 

94.  25pf  orange,  Scott's  No.  212. 

95.  SOpf  orange  and  black,   Scott's   No.   221. 

96.  40pf  carmine  and  black,  Scott's  No.  222. 

97.  SOpf  red-brown,   Scott's   No.   213. 

98.  Imk  violet,  Scott's  No.  214. 


1906. 
99. 

100. 
101. 
102. 
103. 
104. 
105. 
106. 
107. 
108. 

1906-7. 

109. 
110. 
111. 
112, 
113. 
114. 
.  115. 
116. 
117. 
118. 


Overprinted  in  black.     Perf. 

2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  224. 

3pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  225. 

5pf  green,  Scott's  No.  227. 
lOpf  rose,  Scott's  No.  230. 
20pf  blue.  Scott's  No.  231. 
25pf  oran?e,  Scott's  No.  232. 
SOpf  orange  and  black,  Scott's  No.  234. 
40pf  carmine  and  black,  Scott's  No.  235. 
50pf  red-brown,  Scott's  No.  236. 

Imk  violet,  Scott's  No.  237. 


Wmk.  Crosses  and  circles.  Perf. 

2pf  grey,  Scott's  No.  243. 

3pf  brown,  Scott's  No.  244. 

5pf  green.  Scott's  No.  245. 
lOpf  rose,    Scott's   No.   246. 
20pf  blue,  Scott's  No.  247. 
25pf  orange,  Scott's  No.  248. 
30pf  orange  and  black,  Scott's  No.  249. 
40pf  carmine  and  black,  Scott's  No.  250. 
50pf  red  -brown,  Scott's  No.  251. 

Imk  violet,  Scott's  No.  252. 


REPRINTS. 

Few  stamps  have  been  more  reprinted 
than  the  first  three  issues  of  Wurtem- 
berg,  and  few  Governments  have  shown 
greater  docility  in  supplying  enterprising 
dealers  and  collectors,  to  order,  with 
supplies  of  the  stamps  in  every  abnor- 
mal color  that  could  be  desired  by  the 
most  morbid  imagination.  The  so- 
called  reprints  of  the  first  issue  are,  in 
fact,  nothing  better  than  official  counter- 
feits. None  of  the  printing  plates  were 
in  existence  when  these  imitations  were 
made  in  1864,  nor  were  the  dies,  except 


the  central  portions  and  the  frames 
without  the  inscriptions.  These  latter 
were,  therefore,  set  up  again,  and  small 
plates  constructed  consisting  of  six  or 
twelve  electrotypes.  In  the  imitations 
the  letters  of  "Wurttemberg"  and 
"Freimarke"  are  smaller  than  in  the 
originals,  the  letter  "W"  is  1l/2  mm. 
from  the  left  side-line  of  the  label  in- 
stead of  1  mm.  as  in  the  genuine,  and 
the  lower  bunch  of  grapes  in  each  of  the 
two  ornaments  in  the  lower  tablet  are 
complete  whereas  in  the  originals  they 
are  not  complete.  These  "reprints" 
should  hardly  confuse  the  most  inexperi- 
enced collector.  Mr.  Westoby  tells  us 
that  "In  1865  a  further  printing  was 
made  on  paper  of  various  thicknesses, 
and  of  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow. 
The  printing  seems  to  have  been  special- 
ly confined  to  the  1  kreuzer,  though  the 
other  values  are  recorded  as  .  existing. 
The  reprinting  was  made  on  the  condi- 
tion that  the  reprints  should  not  be  used 
postally." 

In  1864  all  the  values  of  the  Arms 
series  were  reprinted  and  some  of  these 
are  apt  to  prove  rather  confusing. 
None  of  the  original  "Dickinson"  paper 
with  orange  thread  used  for  the  stamps 
of  1857  remained  in  stock  and  though  a 
supply  of  silk-thread  paper  was  obtained 
from  the  Bavarian  Administration  the 
color  of  the  thread  was  different,  being 
red.  The  6kr  is  known  with  yellow 
thread  and  various  values  in  fancy 
colors  are  reported  as  existing  with 
green  silk  thread.  The  color  of  the 
thread,  therefore,  is  sufficient  test  in 
detecting  whether  the  specimen  is  an 
original  or  a  reprint.  The  detection  of 
the  reprints  on  paper  without  silk  thread 
is  a  more  difficult  matter  for  the  colors 
of  the  originals  were  very  closely  copied 
and  there  is  no  appreciable  difference 
in  the  paper.  The  original  plates  of 
1857  did  not  exist,  however,  so  that  the 
plates  employed  for  the  rouletted  stamps 
current  at  the  time  the  reprints  were 
manufactured  were  evidently  used.  On 
these  the  stamps  were  much  more  wide- 
ly spaced  than  in  the  originals,  the  dis- 
tance between  the  stamps  measuring 
about  2  mm.  instead  of  Y^  mm.  as  in  the 
genuine.  In  the  case  of  pairs,  there- 
fore, the  reprints  are  at  once  distin- 
guishable and  specimens  with  unduly 
large  margins  may  also  be  condemned 
without  hesitation. 

None  of  the  later  issues  were  re- 
printed. 


ADDENDA. 

BERGEDORF. 


The     following    interesting    letter    is 
self   explanatory: — 
My  dear  Mr.  Poole : 

Surely  no  reader  of  MEKEEI/S  WEEK- 
LY has  enjoyed  more  than  I,  your  ex- 
cellent article  on  the  stamps  of  Berge- 
dorf; and  as  I  feel  sure  that  the  article 
will  be  reprinted  in  pamphlet  form  for 
easy  reference,  will  you  allow  me  to 
furnish  a  few  corrections,  which  I  trust 
you  will  accept  in  the  spirit  in  which 
they  are  made,  viz. :  in  the  interest  of 
Philately,  whose  ardent  followers  we 
both  are.  It  is  true,  I  was  a  mere  boy 
at  the  time  the  stamps  of  Bergedorf 
were  issued,  still  as  the  P.  O.  was  on 
the  ground  floor  of  the  house  my  father 
occupied  with  his  family,  I  was  in  and 
out  of  the  office  whenever  out  of  school, 
helping  in  a  boyish  way  and  very  much 
interested  in  everything  that  went  on 
there,  and  even  in  those  days  I  was  a 
stamp  collector.  In  fact  when  my  father 
went  to  Hamburg  to  see  Mr.  Fuchs  to 
confer  about  stamps  for  Bergedorf,  he 
took  with  him  my  collection  (stamps 
pasted  flat  in  a  copy  book  no  printed 
albums  then)  to  discuss  designs  and 
colors.  I  remember  distinctly  telling 
him  to  beware  of  such  stamps  as  the 
then  current  ikr  Austria,  which  under 
artificial  light  could  hardly  be  distin- 
guished. 

I  pass  over  your  description  of  how 
Bergedorf  became  finally  the  property 
of  Lubeck  and  Hamburg  jointly,  for  to 
go  into  a  description  like  I  find  in  a 
Chronicle  of  Bergedorf,  issued  there  in 
1894  and  a  copy  of  which  is  before  me, 
would  be  taking  too  much  time  and 
space,  and  I  will  come  at  once  to  the 
postal  history  as  I  find  it  recorded 
there  and  of  part  of  which  I  have  per- 
sonal knowledge. 

The  Counts  of  Thurn  and  Taxis,  who 
held  the  postal  privilege  in  Germany 
for  centuries,  tried  to  open  a  P.  O. 
there  in  1788,  but  it  was  discontinued 
almost  at  once,  as  it  had  been  estab- 
lished without  the  consent  of  the  Senates 
of  Lubeck  and  Hamburg.  In  1838  a 
Prussian  P.  O.  was  established  there 
with  my  father  as  postmaster,  he  being 


sent  there  by  the  Prussian  Minister  of 
Posts,  which  lasted  until  March  31st, 
1847 ;  Prussia  having  notified  the  au- 
thorities that  it  desired  to  terminate  its 
contract.  The  completion  of  the  railway 
from  Hamburg  to  Berlin  doing  away 
with  the  necessity  to  convey  as  hereto- 
fore the  mails  by  postchaise.  On  April 
1st,  1847,  the  P.  O.  was  opened  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Government  of  the 
two  cities  L.  and  H.,  and  remained  in 
that  way  until  December  31st,  1867, 
when  in  its  place,  it  became  a  part  of  the 
North  German  Postal  Confederation  and 
finally,  in  1870,  part  of  the  Imperial  Ger- 
man Post. 

I  have  not  with  me  the  article  written 
by  me  in  the  Virginia  Philiatelist,  but 
think  I  explained  in  it  how  Bergedorf 
was  governed  by  a  delegation  of  the 
Senates  of  both  Lubeck  and  Hamburg, 
called  in  Bergedorf  the  "Visitation"  to 
whom,  in  the  week  which  they  spent 
each  summer  in  Bergedorf,  all  matters 
were  referred  to  for  adjustment,  consti- 
tuting as  it  were  a  court  of  last  resort, 
so  the  report  you  mentioned  as  being 
made  in  1859  was  to  them  and  nothing 
further  was  done  that  year,  than  to 
order  the  preparation  of  stamps  for  se- 
lection and  one  sheet  of  each  value  was 
struck  off.  In  1860  the  visitation  did 
nothing  further  about  the  adoption  of 
stamps  for  Bergedorf,  but  when  they 
were  there  again  during  the  summer 
of  1861,  it  was  ordered  that  stamps 
should  be  issued,  but  the  colors  of  the 
half  and  the  three  shilling  did  not  please 
them  and  they  were  ordered  to  be 
printed  in  the  colors  as  described  in 
the  order  of  October,  17th,  1861. 

In  urging  the  issuing  of  stamps  and 
to  show  how  they  would  appear  when 
on  letters,  there  were  cut  from  each  of 
the  five  sheets  printed,  a  block  of  six 
and  each  block  pasted  on  a  large  sheet 
of  blank  paper,  and  I  think  the  original 
block  of  six  of  the  half  shilling  is  now 
in  the  Postal  Museum  in  Berlin.  Those 
found  in  Lubeck's  archives  are  evidently 
a  similar  set  probably  furnished  by  my 
father  to  the  Lubeck  delegates  in  1860, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  if  Hamburg's  ar- 


105 


chives  were  searched,  a  like  find  would 
be  made  there.  The  time  from  mid- 
summer 1861  to  November  1st,  1861,  was 
necessary  to  have  the  stamps  printed, 
for  I  am  sure  that  up  to  that  time  only 
one  sheet  of  each  denomination  had 
been  furnished  to  my  father  by  Mr. 
Fuchs  in  Hamburg,  who  had  the  con- 
tract to  lithograph  the  stamps. 

You  judge  from  the  wording  of  the 
last  paragraph  in  the  report  of  1859, 
that  there  must  have  been  a  Danish  P. 
O.  in  Bergedorf,  but  there  never  was. 
Danish  stamps  of  the  value  of  four  skil- 
lings  (Scott's  7  and  9)  had  been  sold 
at  the  Bergedorf  P.  O.  for  a  number  of 
years  for  the  reason  that  Denmark, 
recognizing  the  usefulness  of  having 
mail  matter  prepaid  by  stamps,  made 
a  difference  in  the  rates  of  prepaid  by 
stamps  and  prepaid  in  cash  or  unpaid  let- 
ters, for  while  a  letter  from  Bergedorf 
to  the  Duchies  of  Schleswig,  Holstein 
and  Lanenburg  (not  Luxemburg  as 
you  have  it,  and  Oldenburg  must  also 
be  a  mistake  as  that  never  belonged  to 
Denmark)  then  under  Danish  Dominion 
as  well  as  Denmark  proper,  when  pre- 
paid by  stamps  cost  only  1%  schilling 
currency,  if  prepaid  in  money  or  sent 
unpaid  cost  two  schillings.  The  stamps 
were  furnished  by  the  Royal  Danish  P. 
O.  in  Hamburg. 

I  see  that  you  have  the  signature  of 
my  father  misplaced  under  the  decree  of 
October  17th,  1861.  Nothing  should  be 
after  the  (signed)  Paalzow.  There  was 
no  Imperial  Post  in  existence  at  that 
time  so  he  could  not  well  have  been  a 
Director  of  Post.  It  belongs,  however, 
under  the  letter  to  Mr.  Moens,  March 
29,  1873,  for  then  he  was  Director  of 
Imp.  Post  and  former  Postmaster  of  the 
L.  H.  office  in  Bergedorf. 

Another  misprint  is  in  naming  the 
Vierlande.  You  enumerate,  Neuen- 
gramm,  Altengramm  which  should  both 
be  spelled  without  r,  viz. :  Neuengamm, 
Altengamm. 

Then  you  speak  about  the  issuance  of 
stamps  in  Lubeck  and  Hamburg,  Janu- 
ary 1st,  1859,  and  continue  that,  "shortly 
after  these  labels  appeared  letters  posted 
in  the  Bergedorf  district  were  required 
to  be  prepaid  with  Hamburg  stamps." 
This  is  incorrect,  for  while  it  is  a  fact 
that  a  very  few  Hamburg  stamps  have 
been  used  in  Bergedorf  at  that  time, 
their  use  was  never  officially  sanctioned 
and  there  was  no  requirement  for  even 
prepayment  of  any  correspondence. 

Having  explained  how  all  matters  con- 


cerning Bergedorf  were  settled  by  the 
"Visitation"  throws  light  upon  the  last 
paragraph  of  my  father's  letter  to  Mr. 
Moens.  As  your  translation  reads: 
"The  pourparlers  and  discussions  were 
never  exchanged  directly  between  the 
Bergedorf  authorities  and  myself,  and 
were  mostly  carried  on  verbally,  which 
shows  that  there  can  be  no  documents 
on  this  subject."  To  make  it  clear 
there  should  be  added  after  exchanged 
"in  writing"  and  after  myself  instead  of 
"and"  should  be  "but,"  for  it  is  a  fact 
that  all  conferences  on  the  subject  of 
issuing  stamps  were  only  held  during 
the  time  the  "Visitation"  was  in  Berge- 
dorf. 

Your  mention  of  the  fact  that  the 
obliterating  stamp  was  also  acquired  by 
Mr.  Moens  leads  me  to  add  one  little 
piece  of  information,  which  may  be  of 
use  to  some  one  who  has  Bergedorf 
stamps  cancelled  in  the  following  man- 
ner and  which  perhaps  have  been  thrown 
aside  as  counterfeit  or  as  bearing  a 
false  cancellation.  The  obliterating 
stamp  was  made  of  brass  and  was  a 
perfect  square  having  five  straight,  equi- 
distant lines  on  it,  so  that  an  ordinary 
cancellation  would  have  been  something 
like  this 


I  know  that  in  a  number  of  instances  I 
have  seen  the  clerks  and  have  done  so 
often  myself,  use  the  cancelling  stamp 
twice,  the  second  time  reversed  so  that 
the  postage  stamp  was  cancelled  not  by 
straight  lines,  but  by  small  squares. 
This  explains  such  cancellation  and 
should  give  a  stamp  so  obliterated  a 
good  philatelic  standing.  Again  assur- 
ing you  that  all  the  foregoing  has  not 
been  written  in  a  censorious  spirit,  but 
with  the  sincere  desire  to  throw  as  much 
light  as  possible  upon  the  subject  treated 
and  to  bury  forever  the  claim  of  the 
essays  of  the  half  schilling  black  on  vio- 
let and  the  three  schilling  black  on  rose 
as  legitimate  postage  stamps,  for  they 
were  never  issued  as  such. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

JOHN  PAALZOW. 


1C6 


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